Cyclic oligonucleotide–based antiphage signaling systems (CBASS) are bacterial immune pathways evolutionarily related to cGAS-STING (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase–stimulator of interferon genes) in humans. ...

Viral-induced DNA damage triggers both eukaryotic and prokaryotic innate immunity. Here, we report that self-DNA ends generated routinely during normal termination of bacterial replication suffice to ...

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 02 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01376-xBacteria deploy diverse immune systems to counter phage infection, yet how these systems sense invasion remains incompletely understood. This Review categorizes phage-derived triggers and outlines emerging principles that govern immune recognition of phage infection.

Anoxic live-cell imaging shows actin-dependent crawling motility and dynamic protrusions in Asgard archaea, providing insights into cellular innovations that may have contributed to eukaryotic evoluti...

An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.

Abstract. Interactions between bacteria, bacteriophages, and their satellites are shaped by a myriad of defence and counter-defence mechanisms. Here, we id

Recent discoveries on bacterial immunity have revealed that several protein domains involved in anti-phage defense are conserved in eukaryotes, such as SIRim, TIR, PNP and gasdermin. Bacterial immune ...

Comparative and functional analyses of Myotis bats uncover unique patterns of adaptation in virus-interacting proteins and longevity-associated pathways, linking two hallmarks of bat biology.

Inside cells, DNA is intimately associated with proteins, forming chromatin. The protein constituents of chromatin vary across the tree of life: histones are the principal building blocks of chromatin...

The T7 bacteriophage deactivates bacterial defence systems through T7K phosphorylation of nearly all host and phage proteins during infection.

Many bacterial immune defenses transmit recognition of phage infection via the generation of diverse cyclic nucleotide second messengers. Phage have evolved to subvert this kind of immunity by sequest...

Bacterial diadenylate cyclase (DAC) enzymes synthesize the nucleotide signal 3′3′ cyclic di-AMP (3′3′-c-di-AMP) to control osmoregulation, cell-wall homeostasis, and DNA-damage responses. Here we disc...

The Review describes shared ancient, conserved mechanisms between human antiviral immunity and bacterial anti-phage systems, outlining universal principles of pathogen sensing, signalling and effector...

DNA glycosylases, typically used for DNA repair, can also protect bacteria against phages that would otherwise evade host immunity by incorporating modified bases into their genomes.

Bacteria produce natural products to adapt to their environments, with phage interactions as major ecological and evolutionary drivers. While some nat…

All organisms defend against viral infections through active immunity mechanisms that clear the virus or population-level mechanisms that cause regulated cell death. Recent research increasingly shows...

Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...

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...

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...

Spyros Lytras is one of four young scientists selected in 2025 to lead new research groups at the Institut Pasteur. He has headed the “Antigen Evolution & Design laboratory” 5-year Group (G5) since Ju...