11 min listen
417: Bacteriophage Blocks Bacterial Bouncers
FromBacterioFiles
ratings:
Length:
10 minutes
Released:
Mar 9, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
This episode: A phage defends its genome against bacterial host defenses by building a wall to keep them out! Download Episode (7.0 MB, 10.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Myroides odoratus and M. odoratimimus News item Takeaways Parasites and their hosts are constantly in arms races with each other, each thriving best when it acquires new and more effective methods of attack, defenses, defenses against defenses, and so on. Bacterial defenses against viruses that infect them mostly involve cutting up viral genomes, either by the indiscriminate specific-cutting restriction enzymes, or by adaptive, sequence-sensing CRISPR/Cas systems. Bacteriophages have proteins that can defend against the CRISPR/Cas system, but they mostly require the sacrifice of multiple failed infections before the proteins build up enough to defeat the defense. In this study, a phage is discovered that can immediately defend against all DNA-cutting systems, by constructing a nucleus-like protective compartment inside the host. Journal Paper: Mendoza SD, Nieweglowska ES, Govindarajan S, Leon LM, Berry JD, Tiwari A, Chaikeeratisak V, Pogliano J, Agard DA, Bondy-Denomy J. 2020. A bacteriophage nucleus-like compartment shields DNA from CRISPR nucleases. Nature 577:244–248. Other interesting stories: Helpful vaginal microbes inhibit HIV infection (paper) Engineering bacteria to fix nitrogen that grain plants can use (paper) Email questions or comments to bacteriofiles at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening! Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.
Released:
Mar 9, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (97)
397: Plant Promotes Pathogen-Prohibiting Partner: This episode: Plants stimulate their root bacteria to compete better, and these bacteria help the plants resist disease! (7.3 MB, 10.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways In some ways, plants' roots are like our gut. They... by BacterioFiles