Scientists talked about the use of sleep by bacteria to strengthen the immune system

A new study has shown how microorganisms use "dormant viruses" to strengthen the immune system. The idea of a single-celled bacterium's ability to protect itself from viruses in the same way as the human immune system of 1.8 trillion cells struck the imagination of a molecular biologist from Johns Hopkins University, Joshua Modell. This is reported by Scientific American magazine.

Scientists discovered 20 years ago that bacteria use the adaptive defense system CRISPR to recognize and destroy viral invaders upon repeated encounters. In a recent study, a team of Johns Hopkins University scientists led by Modell deepened their understanding of how bacteria use this system to self-vaccinate against phages. The results may help to combat amino acid resistance and identify new therapeutic strategies.

This system allows bacteria to edit their genome. It is noted that after contact with the virus, they can use a special enzyme to insert spacers — small fragments of viral DNA - into their genome. This helps them to recognize the virus and fight it in the future. Currently, scientists use this enzyme as a "genetic scissors" to make changes to DNA in different areas. At the same time, experts previously knew little about the course of the process in bacteria.

To understand how bacteria capture the DNA of invading viruses, the researchers conducted experiments in the laboratory with Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria and the phages that infect it. During the study, they noticed that bacteria capture the DNA of only those phages that can "fall asleep" — go into a latent state. According to Modell, during dormancy, microorganisms manage to capture tiny fragments of viral DNA and store them in the genome.

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"The CRISPR system creates a "memory" of the inactive form of the virus, like a vaccine," he said.

To confirm the results, the biologist and his team again exposed bacteria with spacers to the same phages in order to check whether the new genetic memory protects them from infection. According to the study, the microorganism can recognize phages using stored fragments and fight them.

Stan Browns, a molecular biologist at Delft University of Technology, called the results very remarkable. According to him, understanding the interaction of phages and bacteria is key to improving phage therapy, an approach in which scientists use viruses to treat infections caused by bacteria that have developed antibiotic resistance.

According to Rodolphe Barrang, a molecular biologist at the University of North Carolina and co-founder of the biotech company Locus Biosciences, this discovery is important and can help scientists create phages to which more infectious bacteria will be susceptible. He noted that different microorganisms can have any of the more than 150 mechanisms of protection against antifages that have to be bypassed during treatment.

Earlier, on October 6, the Sohu media portal named products that enhance immunity. According to the publication, it is recommended to eat bananas, sea cucumber, jaboticaba, grapefruit, garlic, milk, mushrooms and propolis. It was noted that to increase immunity, foods rich in zinc, iron and proteins can also be added to the diet.

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