Phage sensing and defence by NAD+-depleting immunity systems

Bacteria are constantly attacked by bacteriophages and have developed diverse defence mechanisms, including both innate and adaptive immune systems like restriction-modification and CRISPR-Cas. However, many bacterial antiviral defences remain poorly understood, particularly how they detect and respond to phage infections. This project aims to uncover new aspects of bacterial immunity by studying a novel, minimalistic defence system in Escherichia coli. The goal is to understand how this system detects phages and mediates defence against them.