Biochemical controls: a viral bacterial defense mechanism (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 19:28 (86 days ago) @ David Turell

Newly found:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240826182907.htm

"The research explores the PARIS immune system, which bacteria use to protect themselves against viral infections. Work with PARIS, which stands for Phage Anti-Restriction Induced System, builds on Wiedenheft's ongoing research into CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, a field in which Wiedenheft is an internationally leading scientist.

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"CRISPRs aren't the only bacterial immune systems that exist. What's unique about PARIS is that it recognizes viral proteins instead of nucleic acid. That's similar to how a human immune response works. PARIS is totally different from a human immune system, but the conceptual analogy is intriguing."

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"'Using a new state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscope at MSU, Nate was able to 'see' the PARIS complex that forms inside of a bacterial cell," said Wiedenheft. "It's wild to think that we can now peer into cells and see the machines that do the work necessary to maintain life or defend it from infection."

"The structure of PARIS reveals a propeller-shaped complex that consumes ATP, or energy, in search of invading viral proteins. Foreign protein detection triggers the release of a toxin that shuts down viral replication, protecting healthy cells.

"There are numerous PARIS immune systems that operate in different ways, Burman said, and the next steps in this research will include identifying the triggers that activate those systems. Knowing how PARIS recognizes a viral attack and initiates a response could advance understanding of how different types of immunity provide protection, including in organisms beyond bacteria."

Comment: Bacteria are their own defense inventors. As free-living single cells, they must have these abilities to survive. When multicellular organism appeared, a special group of cells became the immunity system and cells lost the self-editing capacity.