Conserved protein complexes unite diverse nuclease–NTPase systems in bacterial anti-phage defense
A Nature Microbiology study analyzes 16 nuclease–NTPase defense operons, revealing that multi-subunit protein complex formation is a shared feature that enables broad nucleic acid degradation to defend against phages. Some systems (e.g., Azaca) specifically target modified phage DNA, while others show degenerate, genome-spanning cleavage, illustrating conserved mechanistic principles amid diverse defense strategies. The work combines large-scale cell biology, biochemistry, and AlphaFold3 modeling to define the molecular features governing immunity, with sequencing data and reagents deposited in public repositories.
