/lab/aaron-whiteley/ en /lab/aaron-whiteley/2026/01/16/phage-protein-screen-identifies-triggers-bacterial-innate-immune-system <span>A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system</span> <span><span>Aaron Whiteley</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-01-16T09:00:00-07:00" title="Friday, January 16, 2026 - 09:00">Fri, 01/16/2026 - 09:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/lab/aaron-whiteley/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2025-07/Nagy%20et%20al%202025.png?h=c2c6c0b5&amp;itok=DD4nha5J" width="1200" height="800" alt="Nagy et al 2025"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/349"> Research Articles </a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/153"> Spotlight Publications </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/377" hreflang="en">PAMP</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/378" hreflang="en">PRR</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/306" hreflang="en">STAND</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/344" hreflang="en">capsid</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/157" hreflang="en">innate immunity</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/307" hreflang="en">phage defense</a> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/taxonomy/term/379" hreflang="en">phage sensing</a> </div> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/toni-nagy">Toni Nagy</a> <span>,&nbsp;</span> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/gina-gersabeck">Gina Gersabeck</a> <span>,&nbsp;</span> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/amy-conte">Amy Conte</a> <span>,&nbsp;</span> <a href="/lab/aaron-whiteley/aaron-whiteley">Aaron Whiteley</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p><em>Nature Microbiology</em> (2026). <span>PubMed PMID: </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41545502/" rel="nofollow"><span>41545502</span></a></p><h2>Abstract</h2><div><div><p><span>Bacteria have evolved sophisticated antiphage systems that halt phage replication upon detecting specific phage triggers. Identifying phage triggers is crucial to our understanding of immune signalling; however, they are challenging to predict. Here we used a plasmid library that expressed over 400 phage protein-coding genes from 6 phages to identify triggers of known and undiscovered antiphage systems. We transformed our library into 39 diverse strains of </span><em><span>E. coli</span></em><span>. Each strain natively harbours a different suite of antiphage systems whose activation typically inhibits growth. By tracking plasmids that were selectively depleted, we identified over 100 candidate phage trigger-</span><em><span>E. coli</span></em><span> pairs. Two phage proteins were further investigated, revealing that T7 gp17 and additional tail fibre proteins activated the undescribed antiphage system PD-T2-1 and identifying that λ gpE major capsid protein activated the antiphage system Avs8. These experiments provide a unique dataset for the continued definition of the molecular mechanisms underlying the bacterial immune system.</span></p></div></div><h2>News and Commentaries</h2><ul><li><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/toninagy3.bsky.social/post/3ltpajiljac2l" rel="nofollow">Read Toni's Thread</a> [BlueSky]</li></ul><h2>Links</h2><ul><li>DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02239-6" rel="nofollow">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02239-6</a></li><li>Journal Link: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02239-6" rel="nofollow">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02239-6</a></li><li><em>BioRxiv</em> Preprint, July 2 2025,&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.02.662641" rel="nofollow">https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.02.662641</a>&nbsp;</li></ul><h2>Citation</h2><div><span>Nagy TA, Gersabeck GW, Conte AN, Whiteley AT. </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41545502/" rel="nofollow"><span>A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system. </span></a><em><span>Nat Microbiol.</span></em><span> 2026 Jan 16. doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-02239-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41545502.</span></div></div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-right col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/lab/aaron-whiteley/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2025-07/Nagy%20et%20al%202025.png?itok=oXfzCeIT" width="1500" height="1500" alt="Nagy et al 2025"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Nagy TA, Gersabeck GW, Conte AN, ➤Whiteley AT | Nature Microbiology 2026</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Aaron Whiteley 205 at /lab/aaron-whiteley