Scientists reveal how bacteria detect phage attacks

Researchers at University of Utah Health described how the bacterial immune system CBASS detects viral invasion: a phage protease cleaves a host sensor protein, and that damage triggers the immune response. The finding could help design therapeutic phages that evade bacterial defenses.

• Activated CBASS makes an infected bacterium kill itself before the virus spreads
• The trigger is a phage protease that cuts a host sensor protein
• The mechanism differs from systems that recognize viral DNA directly
• CBASS is related to a human immune pathway and dates to a common ancestor