MINI REVIEW article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

Sec. Molecular Bacterial Pathogenesis

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1612006

Structural remodeling activates bacterial anti-phage immunity: Insights from HerA-DUF4297

Provisionally accepted
  • School of Clinical and Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

In response to phage infection, bacteria have evolved a variety of sophisticated immune defense systems to combat viral predation. Among these defense mechanisms, the transmission of immune signals via intracellular signal transduction molecules is a common strategy that often accompanies enzyme activity. Recent studies have characterized the HerA-DUF4297 protein complex, a two-component defense system that integrates ATPase and nuclease activities. This complex inhibits phage infection by inducing DNA degradation. Notably, DUF4297 displays minimal nuclease activity when it operates on its own. However, it demonstrates robust nuclease activity when in complex with HerA. Crucially, the nuclease activity within this complex is regulated by structural changes. These findings provide novel insights into the activation of bacterial immune systems against phages, suggesting that the architectural remodeling of protein complexes can serve as a mechanism for transmitting immune signals.

Keywords: HerA-DUF4297, structural remodeling, Phage, bacterial immunity, Nuclease

Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Leiliang Zhang, School of Clinical and Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China

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