# Exploring novel mechanisms of antiviral immunity in bacteria.

> **NIH NIH F32** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2020 · $64,926

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The study of antiviral defenses in bacteria has led to the discovery and practical use of valuable tools
such as restriction enzymes and CRISPR-Cas. However, the diversity of bacteriophage defense
strategies is not fully appreciated and limited efforts have been made to discover and characterize novel
systems. Sequence-based analyses suggest that there is an abundance of uncharacterized
bacteriophage-defense genes that have yet to be identified or experimentally validated. Importantly,
phage resistance, like antibiotic resistance, may disseminate to human pathogens under selection,
posing a potential barrier to the practical use of phage therapy as an antibiotic alternative. Therefore, it
is important to have a more complete understanding of the diversity of phage defense systems and
their potential to horizontally transfer. This study proposes a high-throughput functional selection
approach to identify phage-defense loci in human microbial metagenomes and strain collections.
Shotgun genomic libraries will be expressed in Escherichia coli and selected for acquired resistance to
several types of E. coli bacteriophage. The proposed strategy uses a sensitive selection method that
detects full or partial resistance and is coupled to deep sequencing post-selection to increase
throughput. Preliminary experiments have revealed that small-insert (~2 kb) human metagenomic
libraries contain hundreds of clones that confer bacteriophage T4 resistance to E. coli. In this data,
novel defense systems were discovered such as a single-gene system that belongs to a conserved
family of unknown function and has not been studied to date. Originating from Neisseria, this gene
protects E. coli from T4, supporting the hypothesis that the human microflora harbors a mobile pool of
phage resistance. This method is poised to immediately uncover new information about a fundamental
aspect of bacterial biology. In addition, it will serve as a model to determine the dissemination potential
of bacteriophage resistance genes. Finally, this study aims to take genetic and biochemical approaches
to investigate the molecular mechanisms of novel defense systems in detail, providing new insights into
how bacteria sense and respond to their viruses. In all, this study will have long-term impacts on our
basic understanding of bacterial antiviral immunity and inform bacteriophage therapy moving forward.
In addition to research, this training plan will incorporate scientific communication during weekly
meetings and conferences, teaching and mentorship opportunities, and professional development.
Training will take place at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a productive, high-quality research
lab, and will provide the resources required for the successful completion of all aspects of the training.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10066030
- **Project number:** 1F32GM139231-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Nicholas Vassallo
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $64,926
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-15 → 2022-07-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10066030

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10066030, Exploring novel mechanisms of antiviral immunity in bacteria. (1F32GM139231-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10066030. Licensed CC0.

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