Why we study the bacteria-phage arms race

Bacteria and the viruses that infect them (called phage) are engaged in a ‘molecular arms race’. Bacteria must evolve strategies to detect and neutralize phage infection or else they risk extinction. And phage, in turn, must counteradapt or they too risk extinction. This constant battle for survival has been a major driver of molecular innovation giving rise to technologies–like restriction nucleases and CRISPR–that have revolutionized molecular biology and modern medicine. Additionally, many of the strategies that bacteria use to protect themselves from viral infection are conserved in humans, leading to the exciting possibility to discover new tools and strategies to improve human health.

Broadly, our goals are to:

Discover components in anti-phage systems in bacteria and pro-virus antagonists in phage. We are particularly interested in bacterial defense systems that share structural and functional homology with immune factors found in humans. One example is cGAS, a key component in both bacterial and human immunity. In bacteria, cGAS-like proteins trigger signaling that culminates in cell-death to prevent phage propagation. In humans, cGAS initiates a signaling cascade that promotes inflammatory responses. Thus, by studying these systems we can gain insights into the evolution and function of both bacterial and human immunity as well as to contribute to a better understanding of fundamental biological processes such as infection sensing.

Understand how these systems function in molecular detail. Advances in experimental and computation has made it possible to discover new anti-phage systems much more quickly than it is possible to experimentally determine their molecular functions and mechanisms. A major goal of our lab is to elucidate these mechanisms using biochemistry and structural biology.

Apply the lessons learned from the bacteria/phage conflict to improve human health.

Interested in learning more about specific projects in the lab? Contact us to learn more.This is a fast-paced field with many research opportunities available for curious, creative, and ambitious researchers and trainees. Want to get involved? Here’s more on how to join.