Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42527632›Full record

ArticleNature microbiology2026

Phage hijacks host phosphorothioate DNA modification machinery to circumvent bacterial Ssp defences.

Yifei Wang, Haoyi Yang, Lixu Jiang, Yashi Ge, Yuhang Zhong, Hui Chu, Kuo Zhang, Kadierya Kuerban, Yuan Nong, Haiyan Gao and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Yifei WangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2255-1295
Haoyi YangDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Lixu JiangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbiology in Genomic Modification and Editing and Application, Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine, Shenzhen University Medical School, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6800-7063
Yashi GeDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Yuhang ZhongDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Hui ChuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Kuo ZhangDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, Institute of Pediatrics, Shenzhen Children's Hospital ＆ Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen, China.
Kadierya KuerbanDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0023-6999
Yuan NongDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbiology in Genomic Modification and Editing and Application, Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine, Shenzhen University Medical School, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Haiyan GaoDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbiology in Genomic Modification and Editing and Application, Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine, Shenzhen University Medical School, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Congrui XuDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Xiaoyu LiSchool of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
Shi ChenDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hubei Clinical Center and Key Laboratory of Intestinal and Colorectal Disease, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. shichen_2021@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8965-1015
Lianrong WangDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, Institute of Pediatrics, Shenzhen Children's Hospital ＆ Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen, China. lianrong2008@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1669-6340

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32125001National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32220103001National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32430006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The bacterial Ssp defence system discriminates self from non-self by introducing sequence-specific phosphorothioate (PT) modifications in host DNA (via SspABCD) and cleaving unmodified foreign DNA (via SspFGH or SspE). Here we report PptA, a phage-encoded [4Fe-4S] cluster-containing protein, which hijacks cognate host cysteine desulfurase IscS homologues to assemble a streamlined PT modification machinery. Integrated biochemical and structural data delineate a model for intermolecular sulfur transfer within the IscS-PptA complex. Upon infection, robust expression of PptA, not merely its presence, drives sufficient PT incorporation into the phage genome, enabling molecular mimicry of host PT patterns. By masquerading as 'self', the modified phage DNA evades recognition and cleavage by SspFGH/SspE. Notably, PptA can reprogramme the Ssp-sensitive λ phage into an immune-evasive variant. These results reveal a co-evolutionary strategy used by phages to overcome PT-based bacterial immunity and provide a foundation for engineering therapeutic phages that bypass this widespread defence system.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsBacteriophage lambdaDNA, BacterialViral ProteinsDNA, ViralEscherichia coliIron-Sulfur ProteinsMolecular MimicryPhosphorothioate OligonucleotidesBacterial ProteinsDNA, BacterialDNA, ViralIron-Sulfur ProteinsPhosphorothioate OligonucleotidesViral Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42527632

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.