1/5 Happy by a recent biorxiv pre-print about DARNA (PD-T7-3) anti-phage defense system. This system is activated by binding to ssDNA, presented by phage SSB, to cleave tRNA in the anti-codon loop. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New online: Structure and mechanism of antiphage retron Eco2

1/6) Hot off the press @natsmb.nature.com 🔥! Jasnauskaite et al. reveal how the minimal bacterial retron Eco2 defends against #phage 🛡️. Phage nucleases trigger Eco2, which cuts RNA, shuts down protein production and stops phage replication 🦠🚫. #phagesky #immunity #microbiology #cryo-em rdcu.be/e4AyH

Amazing findings in geometry-based immune activation! Two bacterial defence systems detect phage-encoded ring oligomers, assemble high-order molecular complexes, and trigger abortive infection. www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This looks like a sci-fi, but it is real - nature is amazing 🤯

Another cool finding of nucleotides activating antiphage defense 👇🏽 5′-phosphorylated deoxydinucleotides arising during host genome degradation activate the doughnut shaped ApeA oligomer, to cleave host tRNAs and abort infection ✂️🧬➡️🍩✨➡️✂️☠️🦠 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Deoxydinucleotides can activate doughnut-shaped mutimeric HEPN ApeA nucleases for tRNA cleavage in the anticodon loop ✂️🛡🧬 Great work lead by Jonas, Giedrius and a great team 💪🙌

Excited to see our work published in @ScienceAdvances ! We present RBPseg, a method for structural prediction of #phage receptor-binding proteins. We applied it to diverse tail fibers and validated the predicted structures using #cryoEM. Read here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Thrilled to see Leyre’s PhD work finally out! We reported the #cryoEM structures of an extracellular contractile injection system from P. luminescens in extended and contracted states, providing structural insight into its architecture and contraction mechanism 🔬 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We have written up a tutorial on how to run BindCraft, how to prepare your input PDB, how to select hotspots, and various other tips and tricks to get the most out of binder design! github.com/martinpacesa...

Super nice work! ✨️🪄 It was so great to hear it presented in Paris.

Very cool system! 👀

Impressive spacer selection mechanism by Cas9-adaptation supercomplexes - all pathway captured by #cryoEM #Cas9 🧬🧩🧵

And here it is, the completed BASEL collection finally published as early access in @plosbiology.org - see the thread for more details. 🤗🧬🎣

Very interesting paper from Feng Zhang's group describing that the origin of #CRISPR RNA targeting system Cas13 is from the HEPN RNA-Toxin antitoxin system Abi-F. It also Assert that Cas13an described from the Doudna lab earlier this year is in fact a Cas13 intermediate. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

🚨 🧬 Updated preprint on the completed BASEL collection - what's new? Some fun with bacterial immunity and a new P22 relative infecting E. coli K-12. A thread 🧵

January 13th is the Day of the Defenders of Freedom of Lithuania 🇱🇹 To commemorate it, we run 9km around the Kastellet fortress in Copenhagen 🫶