Alberto Marina

This study shows that bacteriophages use cross-species communication via AimP peptides and AimR receptors to influence lysogeny and prophage induction in mixed microbial cultures.

The paper reveals a DNA recognition-mimicry switch mechanism in SPBeta-like phages where an antirepressor inactivates a repressor via DNA mimicry, enabling lytic induction under SOS conditions and in the absence of neighboring prophages.

The paper describes a novel repression-derepression mechanism for Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) involving tetrameric repressors and an inducing protein.

The paper investigates the structural and functional impact of the S:A222V mutation in SARS-CoV-2, showing increased RBD opening and ACE2 binding without reducing neutralization capacity.