Phages build anti-defence barriers

Eugene V. Koonin (1) , Mart Krupovic (2)

1 NLM - National Library of Medicine
2 Virologie des archées - Archaeal Virology

Two recent studies reveal a virus anti-defence strategy whereby large, ‘jumbo’ phages protect themselves from both restriction endonucleases and DNA-targeting CRISPR–Cas systems, but not from RNA-targeting ones, by encapsulating the phage genome inside the cell in a ‘nucleus’-like shell that is impenetrable for CRISPR effectors.

Keywords: Bacteriophages; Phage biology

Domains: Microbiology and Parasitology

Eugene V. Koonin, Mart Krupovic. Phages build anti-defence barriers. Nature Microbiology, 2020, 5 (1), pp.8-9. ⟨10.1038/s41564-019-0635-y⟩. ⟨pasteur-02559911⟩