Study Details a Common Bacterial Defense Against Viral Infection

Complex of 2 proteins enhances blockage of phage replication One protein seems to be able to repel a phage, but when it connects to another protein, the resultant complex is very good at cutting the phage's DNA to prevent it from replicating, according to research findings. According to experts, the discoveries advance our knowledge of the evolutionary processes used by bacteria and may eventually find use in biomedicine. The biological structures of GajA, GajB, and the so-called supramolecular complex GajAB—which is formed when the two bind to form a cluster made up of four molecules from each protein—were ascertained by researchers using cryo-electron microscopy. The large size and elongated configuration of the complex made it difficult to get the full picture of GajB's functional contributions when bound to GajA, Shen said, leaving the team to make some assumptions about protein roles that have yet to be confirmed. Citation: Yang, XY., Shen, Z., Xie, J. et al. Molecular basis of Gabija anti-phage supramolecular assemblies. Nat Struct Mol Biol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-024-01283-w