Dissecting the molecular basis of the anti-phage defence system Zorya II

Bacteriophages (phages) are small, non-living entities that depend on their bacterial host for survival.Bacteria and phages are involved in cycles of co-evolution, where bacteria develop mechanisms to prevent infection from their predators and phages adapt to overcome these new strategies. Of recent discovery is a novel anti-phage system, named Zorya. It has been observed that bacterial strains that carry a Zorya system, when infected by a phage, can initiate early cell death to avoid its replication. Nevertheless, little is known about the exact mechanism through which the system is activated and can cause growth cessation, to arrest the phage infection. I will explore the mechanism by which the Zorya system leads to bacterial death, addressing how the single components of the Zorya system can assemble to bring about the death of infected host bacteria and which components of the phage invader is fundamental to determine the initiation of this pathway.