New study shows how bacteria adapted a virus-derived injection system to recognize and attach to many different types of cells. By systematically identifying thousands of rapidly evolving receptor-binding proteins, the researchers explain how these systems can be retargeted again and again in nature by swapping the part that binds to cells. The work not only solves a long-standing mystery about how these bacterial machines function, but also demonstrates that they can be engineered to deliver proteins into specific human cells, pointing to future biomedical and biotechnological applications.
Viruses attack nearly every living organism on Earth. To do so, they rely on highly specialized proteins that recognize and bind to receptors on the surface of target cells, a molecular arms race that drives…