A viral "codebreaker" intercepts a host alarm
- Nemudryi, Artem [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Nemudraia, Anna [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Wiegand, Tanner
- Sternberg, Samuel H.
- Wiedenheft, Blake [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
Immune systems generate diverse alarm signals in response to invading pathogens. In a recent Nature paper, Leavitt et al. identified a family of phage-encoded “codebreakers” that intercept nucleotide-derived immune signals and render the cell defenseless to viral infection.