Mario Rodríguez Mestre

This study defines the structure and mechanism of retron type IX, revealing how its DNA-scaffolded ring assembly mediates antiphage immunity through phage-encoded nuclease-triggered activation.

The paper describes a non-canonical mechanism in Type VI retrons where reverse transcribed ssDNA derepresses translation of an antiviral toxin, providing phage defense without detectable msDNA.

The paper identifies DRT10, an antiviral reverse transcriptase, and shows its structural and mechanistic similarities to telomerase, suggesting a bacterial origin for telomerase.

The paper identifies a bacterial anti-phage system that uses nucleobase modification to generate immune messengers, leading to population-level defense through infected cell death.

The paper isolates and characterizes novel retrons from environmental bacteria, tests their phage defense mechanisms, and engineers them for genome editing in E. coli.

This study shows that type VI-B CRISPR-Cas systems with RT-Cas1 fusion proteins can acquire spacers from RNA, functioning independently of other systems.

The paper identifies viral crlRNAs that suppress bacterial immunity by reprogramming Cas proteins and demonstrates their potential for mammalian genome editing.