NIAID
E.Coli Bacteria
Discovery can turn future approaches into biotechnology and medicine. New bacterial immune system is “ingenious”.
Scientists identified a new Bacterial Immune System that uses ingeniously virus tools against the virus.
This defense system, called “Kongming” – In honor of the famous Chinese stratega Zhuge Liang – imitates the old military tactic of transforming the enemy’s weapons into advantages.
The Kongming system is activated during a viral attack, When the bacteria uses an enzyme brought by the virus itself, explains the.
Instead of allowing this enzyme to replicate the viral genetic material, the Kongming system devia-a to produce a chemical signal that triggers a sequence of self -destruction.
This kind of sacrifice prevents the spread of the virus To other bacterial cells-comparable to “explode a bridge” to lock an enemy in advance, as the assistant professor Rafael Pinilla-Romano explains, one of the main researchers of.
A Enzima Viral, Usually used to copy genetic code, it is manipulated by the bacteria to synthesize DITP, a molecule that activates the immune response. This self -inuround cell death interrupts the progress of the infection. Although the study centered on E. coli bacteria, similar systems were identified in other bacteria, suggesting that Kongming -type defenses are generalized.
However, the viruses They are not helpless. Some have evolved to transport enzymes that disable the essential molecules to activation of kongming, thus neutralizing the defense system before it can react.
This discovery gains special relevance in the current growing context, an increasingly worrying global health problem.
Fágic therapy – the use of viruses to selectively attack harmful bacteria – seems to be a promising alternative.
In addition to health, the Kongming system also has potential in the biotechnology.
The system specifically detects DITP – a molecule associated with certain human diseases, including cancer – and can inspire the development of new diagnostic tools and applications in Synthetic biology.
“We are only at first,” says doctoral student and co -author Ruiliang Zhao. “When we learn from the molecular tricks of nature, we can develop smarter solutions for medicine and technology.”
