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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

@mfwhite2.bsky.social reviewed both papers in a News and Views and put the collaboration between phage defense systems best: "scientists can confidently conclude that bacterial defences are indeed more than just the sum of their parts" www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Bacteria use a decoy defence molecule to set a trap for viruses

Some bacterial-infecting viruses use ‘sponges’ to mop up defence molecules, but bacteria can fight back by responding when a sponge captures decoy molecules.

www.nature.com

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

Check out the complementary story from @doudna-lab.bsky.social led by @erinedoherty.bsky.social and @benadler.bsky.social Their work on OptE oligomerization is particularly crucial to completing our understanding of Panoptes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature

Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

www.nature.com

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

This work was led by @aesully98.bsky.social and was a fantastic collaboration with @benmorehouse.bsky.social + lab. Thanks to all authors including Aravind and Max Burroughs at NIH

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

Panoptes guards the CBASS pathway (bacterial cGAS-STING). One facet of this work that I find particularly exciting is the genetic linkage between Panoptes and CBASS, which significantly co-occur in bacterial genomes. What other phage defense systems may be genetically (and functionally) linked?

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

Nucleotide second messengers are frequently antagonized by viruses. However, Panoptes turns this weakness into an opportunity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Panoptes system uses decoy cyclic nucleotides to defend against phage - Nature

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

www.nature.com

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · 6h

Our work on the Panoptes antiphage system is published! Here we find that Panoptes "watches" the cytosol for phage immune evasion proteins–captured in this illustration by Clair Huffine of Insight Illustrations. A beautiful example of the effector triggered immunity paradigm.

Illustration depicting a bacterium under assault by phage. The bacterium “sees” phage immune evasion proteins and protects itself using a newly described antiphage system called Panoptes, named for the many-eyed mythical giant Argus Panoptes. Credit: Clair Huffine Insight Illustrations LLC

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Ashley Sullivan @aesully98.bsky.social · 5d

A little late to the Panoptes party, but I’m delighted to share that our paper is published! 👁️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Panoptes system uses decoy cyclic nucleotides to defend against phage - Nature

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Ben Morehouse @benmorehouse.bsky.social · 7d

Our story describing the Panoptes bacterial immune defense system is now finally peer-reviewed and published today! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Panoptes system uses decoy cyclic nucleotides to defend against phage - Nature

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Ben Adler @benadler.bsky.social · 6d

Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems.

Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature

Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Erin Doherty @erinedoherty.bsky.social · 6d

Now online at @nature.com we show how the Panoptes defense system protects against viruses that attempt immune evasion - and expands our understanding of the role of oligonucleotides in immunity.

Check out this work co-led with @benadler.bsky.social here:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature

Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Doudna Lab @doudna-lab.bsky.social · 6d

New paper online at @nature.com from co-leads @erinedoherty.bsky.social + @benadler.bsky.social !

Erin Doherty @erinedoherty.bsky.social · 6d

Now online at @nature.com we show how the Panoptes defense system protects against viruses that attempt immune evasion - and expands our understanding of the role of oligonucleotides in immunity.

Check out this work co-led with @benadler.bsky.social here:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature

Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Yoann Santin @ysantin.bsky.social · 27d

I wrote a Preview in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social !
A new study suggests that #curli may protect prey from bacterial predators like #Bdellovibrio.

Really looking forward to seeing this model confirmed with live-cell imaging and specific reporters!

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

When predators meet the matrix: Natural resistance via amyloid fibers

How do bacteria protect themselves against predators? In a recent issue of Nature, Ledvina et al. reveal curli fibers as a genetically encoded defense against Bdellovibrio predation in wild E. coli st...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Erin Doherty @erinedoherty.bsky.social · Aug 22

Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!

Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.

Divergent viral phosphodiesterases for immune signaling evasion

Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) and other short oligonucleotides play fundamental roles in immune system activation in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In response, viruses use phosphodiesterase...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

Nitzan Tal @nitzantal.bsky.social · Jul 13

📢Preprint out!
Excited to share my final work from the @soreklab.bsky.social!

We mined phage dark matter using structural features shared by anti-defense proteins (viral tools that help phages bypass bacterial immunity) to guide discovery.

Found 3 new families targeting immune signaling!

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Reposted by Aaron Whiteley

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jul 3

Identifying phage proteins that activate the bacterial innate immune system https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.02.662641v1

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 12

Two important conceptual advances I want to highlight: using a large library of plasmids expressing 100’s of phage proteins allowed us to (1) identify new phage defense systems independent of genome context and (2) characterize known defense systems that did not yield phage escaper mutants

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 12

Our new work understanding how phages are detected by the bacterial immune system is posted on bioRxiv! Check out Toni’s thread for a synopsis👇

toninagy3.bsky.social @toninagy3.bsky.social · Jul 11

I am delighted to share that my work in the @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social lab is now on bioRxiv! We used a large-scale genetic screen to begin defining the vast landscape of phage proteins that trigger immune signaling in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Identifying phage proteins that activate the bacterial innate immune system

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 signaling...

www.biorxiv.org

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

A publicly available link for the paper can also be found here: rdcu.be/euu5Y

Functional amyloid proteins confer defence against predatory bacteria

Nature - Escherichia coli uses curli fibres, oligomers of the functional amyloid CsgA, as a barrier to protect against the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Myxococcus xanthus in a...

rdcu.be

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

We are just at the beginning of understanding defense against predatory bacteria and the many roles of amyloid proteins across bacteria. Stay tuned for more great work from the Ledvina lab, starting this year at the University of Michigan!

Hannah Ledvina Ph.D. @hannahledvina.bsky.social · Jun 25

Extremely excited to share I have accepted an offer to be an Assistant Professor in the MCDB department at the University of Michigan! Go Blue! The Ledvina lab will investigate the molecular interworking of the bacterial immune systems including defense against both viral and bacterial pathogens.

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

Great science can only happen with great people. Hannah and all coauthors (including 3 undergraduates!) made this work possible. In particular, our collaboration with Aravind and Max Burroughs at the NIH helped expand this analysis to identify the expanse of bacterial amyloid proteins.

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

Here, we find that defense against predatory bacteria is very different from most modes of defense against phage. Bacteria build a "molecular suit of armor" using functional amyloid proteins to protect themselves. A new role for a fascinating set of proteins. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Functional amyloid proteins confer defence against predatory bacteria - Nature

Escherichia coli uses curli fibres, oligomers of the functional amyloid CsgA, as a barrier to protect against the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Myxococcus xanthus in a mechanism th...

www.nature.com

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

I never actually thought my lab would work on Bdello. But, as our work on phage explored the antiviral side of the bacterial immune system we found ourselves thinking that there must also be an antibacterial side too.

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

"Bdello" is from greek for "to leech" because Bdellovibrio leeches nutrients from other bacteria by growing inside their periplasm! This micrograph from Liz Sockett's review shows the predator in action. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

I have been fascinated by predatory bacteria ever since 2013 when I saw a presentation by @markowenmartin.bsky.social on Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus at the West Coast Bacterial Physiologists meeting.

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Aaron Whiteley @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social · Jul 3

Check out our new study on how bacteria defend themselves against a peculiar clade of organisms – predatory bacteria! This work was a monumental effort led by @hannahledvina.bsky.social (see her excellent summary👇). The bacterial immune system continues to amaze me...

Hannah Ledvina Ph.D. @hannahledvina.bsky.social · Jul 2

Words cannot describe how excited I am to share the findings from the second half of my postdoc in @aaronwhiteley.bsky.social's lab where we discover that bacteria use functional amyloids to defend themselves from predatory bacteria. rdcu.be/euu5Y. See thread for details on this epic adventure 1/.

Functional amyloid proteins confer defence against predatory bacteria

Nature - Escherichia coli uses curli fibres, oligomers of the functional amyloid CsgA, as a barrier to protect against the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Myxococcus xanthus in a...

rdcu.be

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