DancE: A DNA-Activated Bacterial cGAS-like Enzyme in Antiphage Immune Defense
Vertebrate cGAS senses DNA and synthesizes cyclic GMP-AMP to launch an immune response through the adaptor protein STING. Bacterial cyclic oligonucleotide-based signaling systems (CBASS) are evolutionarily related to the metazoan cGAS-STING pathway, but the molecular cues triggering bacterial cGAS activation remain poorly understood. Here, we identify a cGAS-like enzyme, termed DancE…
Vertebrates possess a protein called cGAS that detects DNA and triggers an immune response via the STING protein. Bacteria also have similar signaling systems, known as CBASS, but the way they activate cGAS is not well understood. Researchers have now discovered a bacterial enzyme named DancE that can be activated by binding to double-stranded DNA.
This enzyme is normally kept in check by a bacterial chaperone called DnaK, which prevents DancE from binding DNA. The study also found that a protein from the lambda phage, called gpC, can activate DancE through its protease activity. This discovery illustrates a unique mechanism by which bacteria can sense DNA through a "guard-like" system that typically suppresses DNA sensing.
This suggests that the ability to detect DNA using cGAS family proteins is an ancient defense strategy that has been conserved across different life forms.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
