Zhiyu Zang

Balancing of immune activation and suppression during phage infection

The paper shows how phages evade bacterial immune systems by using allelic variation and an anti-defense hotspot, revealing a similarity to a human protein.

Chemical suppression of a bacterial immune system revives repressed phages

The paper identifies small molecule inhibitors of the Thoeris antiphage immune system in bacteria, showing that persistent immunity is required to prevent phage revival and population collapse.

Filament formation is a conserved mechanism of Thoeris SIR2 effector activation

This study shows that 3'cADPR-induced SIR2 filament formation activates ThsA effectors in type I Thoeris systems across bacterial species.

Chemical inhibition of a bacterial immune system

This study identifies chemical inhibitors that block a bacterial immune system, enhancing phage therapy efficacy against resistant strains.

Bacterium secretes chemical inhibitor that sensitizes competitor to bacteriophage infection

The paper identifies a bacterial secondary metabolite that sensitizes competitors to phage infection, providing a fitness advantage to the producer.