Toxin–antitoxin systems are widespread in bacterial genomes. They are usually composed
of two elements: a toxin that inhibits an essential cellular process and an antitoxin that …

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are ubiquitous genetic elements in bacteria that consist of a
growth-inhibiting toxin and its cognate antitoxin. These systems are prevalent in bacterial …

Bacterial anti-phage systems are frequently clustered in microbial genomes, forming
defense islands. This property enabled the recent discovery of multiple defense systems …

Facing frequent phage challenges, bacteria have evolved numerous mechanisms to resist
phage infection. A commonly used phage resistance strategy is abortive infection (Abi), in …

Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules are abundant genetic elements that encode a toxin
protein capable of inhibiting cell growth and an antitoxin that counteracts the toxin. The …

Bacteria are under constant attack from bacteriophages (phages), bacterial parasites that
are the most abundant biological entity on earth. To resist phage infection, bacteria have …

Bacteria and their viral predators (bacteriophages) are locked in a constant battle. In order to
proliferate in phage-rich environments, bacteria have an impressive arsenal of defence …

Small RNAs are ubiquitously present regulators in all kingdoms of life. Most bacterial and
archaeal small RNAs (sRNAs) act by antisense mechanisms on multiple target mRNAs …

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are widespread in bacteria, but their activation mechanisms
and bona fide targets remain largely unknown. Here, we characterize a type III TA system …

Bacteria have a range of distinct immune strategies that provide protection against
bacteriophage (phage) infections. While much has been learned about the mechanism of …