Nitzan Tal

Essay

Nucleotides on the frontline

Nucleotide-centric defense systems reveal a core principle in bacterial antiviral immunity

GENOMICS, PROTEOMICS, & SYSTEMS BIOLOGY

Abstract

Viruses that infect bacteria, known as phages, are major drivers of microbial evolution. Bacteria have evolved diverse molecular defenses, yet the underlying principles of how they combat viral infection are still emerging. This work explores how bacteria use their own nucleotide metabolism as a weapon against phages. Through a combination of genomic mining, biochemical characterization, and structural analysis, multiple bacterial defense systems were uncovered that manipulate or corrupt cellular nucleotides to block phage replication. These include enzymes that deplete essential nucleotides, produce cyclic nucleotide signals, or convert canonical bases into potentially toxic forms. Together, these findings reveal that targeting free nucleotides is a central strategy in bacterial immunity, shedding light on a hidden layer of defense and offering new insights into microbial survival tactics.

Biography

Nitzan Tal received an undergraduate degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD from Weizmann Institute of Science. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL Heidelberg), where she explores how bacteria respond to threats in their environment.