New bacterial defense mechanism of the CRISPR-Cas system uncovered

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 - 08:02 in Biology & Nature

Researchers led by Martin Jinek of the University of Zurich have found an unprecedented mechanism by which bacteria defend themselves against invading viruses. When the bacterial immune system gets overwhelmed, the CRISPR-Cas system produces a chemical signal that activates a second enzyme which helps in degrading the invaders' genetic material. This process is very similar to an antiviral mechanism of the human innate immune system.

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