Beyond CRISPR: The immune system of bacteria

The arms race between bacteria and phages led to the evolutionary development of sophisticated anti-phage defense systems, among which is the CRISPR-Cas system. As CRISPR-Cas is present in less than 50% of all bacteria, it is conceivable that additional bacterial anti-phage defense systems are yet to be discovered. The talk will discuss a systematic effort for the discovery of new defense systems that are located in “defense islands” in microbial genomes, and progress in understanding their abundance and mechanisms of action. Specifically, we will report surprising parallels between the human and the bacterial innate immune systems.