Out now! In collaboration with Hiroshi Nishimasu's lab, we uncover how a dual reverse transcriptase immune system builds double-stranded DNA from both RNA and protein templates. www.cell.com/cell/abstrac... Previous thread for the preprint: bsky.app/profile/ster...

Coordinated RNA- and protein-templated synthesis of double-stranded DNA by a dual reverse transcriptase immune system

Bacterial reverse transcriptases defend against viruses, yet how their DNA products stop infection remains unknown. Bacteriophage inhibition of a host recombination enzyme activates the DRT3 defense s...

cell.com

Nature research paper: Diverse bacterial pattern recognition receptors sense the core phage proteome go.nature.com/45fpXCZ

Diverse bacterial pattern recognition receptors sense the core phage proteome - Nature

Systematic analysis of prokaryotic STAND NTPases — relatives of animal and plant immune receptors — uncovers diverse antiviral sensors that detect most of the core structural and replicative proteins of bacteriophages.

go.nature.com

Starting with the DNA sequence of a #phage genome, #PholdAPhage will create a 3D reconstruction of the complete phage, almost like you did cryoEM on it! Check out Renee's awesome software github.com/reneegreen81... to assemble unknown phage particles one protein at a time

A family of lanthipeptides with anti-phage function Discovery of 2,000+ lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters with anti-phage potential. Lanthivirins inhibit phage replication by targeting phage proteins & interfering with phage DNA replication. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

A family of lanthipeptides with anti-phage function

Shomar, Guillaume, et al. report the genomics-driven discovery of a family of more than 2,000 lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters with anti-phage potential. They experimentally demonstrate anti-p...

cell.com

1/10 🚨Preprint! One RING to rule them all (phages)👑💍⚔️ Bacteria build giant DNA-scaffolded RNase rings (larger than the ribosome!) to shut down viral infection🧬🧵👇 biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

🧬 Thrilled to share our latest @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social preprint! Here we find that Retron-IX build crazy supramolecular rings scaffolded by DNA molecules that sense phage infection! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Read more below🧵! (1/X)

New preprint on bioRxiv! 🧬 “Structural mechanism of the type IX Retron-Kva2 anti-phage defense system” Led by the Nishimasu lab (Univ. Tokyo) — happy to have been part of the team! 🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...

Structural mechanism of the type IX Retron-Kva2 anti-phage defense system

Retrons are prokaryotic genetic elements that protect bacterial cells from invading phages. The type IX retron comprises a non-coding RNA, a reverse transcriptase (RT), and dual effectors: a putative ...

doi.org

Gabija restricts phage circularization & DNA replication Gabija prevents phage genome circularization & replication w/out impacting bacterial host. Exposed DNA ends & phage end-binding proteins license DNA targeting while RecBCD protects host from Gabija www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Gabija restricts phage circularization and DNA replication

Gabija acts early during phage infection, preventing phage genome circularization and replication. Phage DNA end-binding proteins prevent RecBCD loading onto linear DNA, and the absence of RecBCD lice...

cell.com

A DNA-scaffolded Retron Ring Mediates Antiphage Immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.14.737667v1

Thrilled to share! We present the structure of a prototypical P2 OLD and reveal that its tRNAse activity is triggered by ssDNA hairpins in phage origins or unresolved termini in RecBCD-deficient cells. Great team effort with Wang, Bikard & Nudler labs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

OLD sentinel: an abortive tRNase surveys phage replication and DNA defects in RecBCD-compromised cells

OLD, an abortive immunity protein from prophage P2, consists of an ABC ATPase sensor and a TO-PRIM nuclease effector - a core architecture shared by a large protein family, including components of ant...

biorxiv.org

Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.06.735840v1

Out Now! END nucleases are antiphage defence systems targeting multiple phages with modified genomes #MicroSky

END nucleases are antiphage defence systems targeting multiple phages with modified genomes

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 26 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02407-2The END nuclease targets eight phage families with at least ten different known DNA modifications, but not unmodified DNA. Its specificity is dictated by the C-terminal iEndoIII domain. To combat END, modified phages encode direct-binding inhibitors.

go.nature.com

From my time with @jbdsf.bsky.social: Our latest CBASS story is now published! ‘CBASS’ is the ancestral origin of anti-viral cGAS immunity and encoded in diverse bacteria. For the first time, we show that CBASS enables cell survival (vs cell death) to protect bacteria from phage infection. More ⬇️

Cell Host & Microbe@cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social · last mo.

CBASS limits phage at no expense A CBASS type encoding a phospholipase (CapV) effector limits the late stage of phage replication while maintaining Pseudomonas aeruginosa cell viability. CBASS limits packaged phage DNA, reducing virion production www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Viral theft of light: A cyanophage protein dismantles cyanobacterial photosynthesis to accelerate infection www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Viral theft of light: A cyanophage protein dismantles cyanobacterial photosynthesis to accelerate infection

Auxiliary metabolic genes, acquired by cyanobacterial viruses (cyanophages) from their hosts, are thought to manipulate host metabolism during infection. A recent study by Nadel et al. performed in vi...

cell.com

Out Now! Bacterial cell division protein FtsZ complexes with a phage protein to activate bacterial immunity #MicroSky

Bacterial cell division protein FtsZ complexes with a phage protein to activate bacterial immunity

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02384-6The activation of an antiphage defence system relies on host factors targeted by phages, a mechanism analogous to the way that eukaryotic innate immune systems detect pathogen-induced perturbations of host cells through effector-triggered immunity.

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Our paper on the YprA family of helicases and their roles in bacterial defence is now out! We describe ARMADA, a defence system synergise with Druantia and show that both systems spread horizontally on a novel type of mobile genetic element that we call SPIDERs www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

YprA-family helicases provide the missing link between diverse prokaryotic immune systems

Bacteria and archaea possess an enormous variety of antiviral immune systems that often share homologous proteins and domains. YprA-family helicases a…

sciencedirect.com

How do human cells defend against viruses? @sgfern.bsky.social discovers that human immune proteins named ISGs target ancient features of replication shared between animal and bacterial viruses – opening analysis of human immunity to the power of bacterial genetics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The CRISPR-Cas system in E. coli K-12 is considered inactive. We questioned whether mobile elements encode anti-CRISPRs against this system and found a highly abundant AcrIE9-AcrIE10 tandem and a novel AcrIE13 — an HTH protein more similar to Aca than known Acrs. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A census of anti-CRISPR proteins reveals AcrIE9 and AcrIE13 as inhibitors of the Escherichia coli K12 type IE CRISPR-Cas system | PNAS

CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity systems provide defense against mobile genetic elements and are often countered by diverse anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins....

pnas.org

Phages invented sgRNAs before humans!! 🧬 Obviously, for mischief… 😈 Loved seeing this story unfold!

bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Phage-encoded single-guide RNAs subvert CRISPR-Cas9 immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.01.729453v1

Happy to see the paper out in Cell Host & Microbe. congratulations Ilya!

Osterman Ilya@ostermanilya.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our aRES story is finally out 😀 Beyond what was reported in the preprint, we found that aRES is activated by direct binding of the phage DNA polymerase. Another NAD-degrading defense system — and multiple phage strategies to overcome it. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Phage RyR-domain proteins degrade ADPR-based immune signals and fuel NAD synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.28.727677v1

Like a prophage being awakened from its slumber, the phage field has seen a lot of renewed activity during the last decade. Check out our new @natrevmicro.nature.com review on the temperate phage life cycle here to stay up-to-date 🧫🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Revisiting the life cycle of temperate phages - Nature Reviews Microbiology

The life cycle of temperate bacteriophages involves lytic or lysogenic cycles and has historically served as a model for studying genetic regulation. This Review provides an updated overview of these ...

nature.com

Some phages are named after gods or rivers, this one was named by journalist Thilo Mischke @thilomischke.bsky.social after his grandma ("Oma Karin") while filming in our lab. It's a cool phage that should be temperate but became virulent due to a transposon at its lysogeny control! ⛓️‍💥💪🏼

📢 Registration for our International Symposium on “New Concepts in Prokaryotic Virus-Host Interactions” is now open! 🗓️ 5–7 October 2026 📍 Harnack House, Berlin, Germany ➡️ Information and registration: spp2330.de/symposium-20...

Very happy to share our Druantia III–Zorya II synergy story, now on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2026.05.12.724681v1 It appears alongside several Druantia III papers from excellent colleagues, each telling a different part of the story. (links below)

Happy to share our latest pre-print on the Druantia defense system. We find that Type III Druantia uses a cooperative helicase-nuclease mechanism to sense and degrade replication-associated forked DNA structures. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... A🧵

New paper out in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social! Microbes evolving with modern lifestyles 🧬🦠 S. copri uses PerR to manage oxygen stress, but some strains acquired OxyR via HGT, boosting oxygen tolerance. These strains are enriched in industrialized populations. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Biogeography-associated emergence of enhanced oxygen tolerance in the abundant human gut commensal Segatella copri

El Mouali and Tawk et al. characterize the oxygen-tolerance response in the human gut-residing bacterium Segatella copri. They identified a subset of strains that acquired an additional oxygen regulat...

cell.com

TIR-like NADases act in bacterial immunity and the RNA vault https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.01.722283v1

Want to find #prophage in your #bacteria genomes? We built PhiSpy a long time ago, and now we've created a new web page for it: linsalrob.github.io/PhiSpyWeb/ Best of all, the data never leaves your computer! #phage #phagesky

I’m thrilled to share an update to our work on bacterial NACHT domain containing proteins! In our last preprint, we reported that bNACHT11 is activated by multiple phage proteins. We’ve now expanded this work with structural insight and investigation of programmed cell death following activation.