Bacteria use a decoy defence molecule to set a trap for viruses

Malcolm F. White

doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03125-1

Bacteria use a decoy defence molecule to set a trap for viruses

Malcolm F. White^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Abstract

Some bacterial-infecting viruses use ‘sponges’ to mop up defence molecules, but bacteria can fight back by responding when a sponge captures decoy molecules.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-2
Number of pages	2
Journal	Nature
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03125-1
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2025

Keywords

Microbiology
Virology

Access to Document

10.1038/d41586-025-03125-1

Cite this

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title = "Bacteria use a decoy defence molecule to set a trap for viruses",

abstract = "Some bacterial-infecting viruses use {\textquoteleft}sponges{\textquoteright} to mop up defence molecules, but bacteria can fight back by responding when a sponge captures decoy molecules.",

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year = "2025",

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