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Israeli scientists identified a bacterial immune system that alters the tails of phages and is “somehow able to stop the virus from spreading to other cells,” according to a statement released on Wednesday by the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Phages are viruses that target bacteria. They have a head that contains genetic material and a tail that recognizes and injects viral genetic material into bacterial cells. Once injected, the phage uses the bacterium’s machinery to replicate itself, eventually causing the cell to burst and disseminate the infection to additional bacteria.

The novel bacterial defense system, reported in a study published in Nature, interrupts this process by attaching a tiny protein molecule to the phage tail.

Unlike other bacterial immune systems, the newly found system allows the virus to hijack the cell and replicate. Infected bacteria die and create viral progeny, but these progeny cannot infect other bacteria.

However, the protein attached to the viral tail’s end prevents phages from identifying and infecting new bacterial cells. The researchers believe that this immune system can distinguish the three-dimensional structure of the viral tail, allowing it to combat different tailed phages.

They also proposed that, while viruses targeting humans may lack tails, human defenses may destroy a vital structural component of the virus.WIS stated that components of this immune system are “similar in structure to a human immunity mechanism,” implying that this study could shed information on how this mechanism works and the evolution of the human immune system.

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