Bacteria take 'RNA mug shots' of threatening viruses
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 18:40
in Biology & Nature
Electron micrograph of the marine bacteria Marinomonas mediterranea is shown. Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin, the Stanford University School of Medicine and two other institutions have discovered that bacteria have a system that can recognize and disrupt dangerous viruses using a newly identified mechanism involving ribonucleic acid (RNA). It is similar to the CRISPR/Cas system that captures foreign DNA. The discovery might lead to better ways to thwart viruses that kill agricultural crops and interfere with the production of dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.