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Virus deploys a ‘loose cannon’ enzyme to overpower bacterial defences

Published: 08/19/2026, 12:00 AM

This is a summary of: Bartolec, T. et al. Pervasive phosphorylation by phage T7 kinase disarms bacterial defences. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10934-5 (2026). Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout ‘Expert opinion’ and the figure are published under a CC BY 4.0 licence. Article PubMed Google Scholar Hirsch-Kauffmann, M., Herrlich, P., Ponta, H. & Schweiger, M. Nature 255, 508–510 (1975). Article PubMed Google Scholar Garrido-Rodriguez, M. et al. Nature Commun. 17, 2071 (2026). Article PubMed Google Scholar