STUDENT-LED COLLOQUIUM: BACTERIAL ANTI-PHAGE DEFENSE SYSTEMS

Course Description

Bacteria and archaea have evolved diverse immune strategies to defend against bacteriophage infection. This student-led colloquium will explore the molecular mechanisms, evolutionary logic, and biological significance of major bacterial anti-phage defense systems, including CRISPR-Cas, retrons, CBASS, defense-associated reverse transcriptase systems, and other emerging antiviral pathways. Through discussion of primary literature, students will examine how these systems detect phage infection, trigger defensive responses, and shape host–phage coevolution.

The course will emphasize mechanistic understanding rather than memorization. Topics may include nucleic acid-guided immunity, abortive infection, cyclic nucleotide signaling, reverse transcriptase-based defense, toxin–antitoxin associated immunity, and the discovery of novel defense islands in bacterial genomes. Students will also consider how studies of bacterial immunity have transformed biotechnology, from genome editing to potential applications in synthetic biology and phage therapy.

By the end of the colloquium, students will gain a broad understanding of bacterial antiviral defense, develop skills in reading and presenting primary research articles, and appreciate how fundamental discoveries in microbial immunity can lead to major conceptual and technological breakthroughs. This course is intended for students interested in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, evolutionary biology, and biotechnology.

This is a student-led colloquium led by Haowen Deng under the supervision of Anthony De Tomaso.