Characterizing interactions between diverse phages and Nhi immunity

Nhi (nuclease-helicase immunity) is a multifunctional enzyme that defends against bacterial viruses (i.e. phages). Nhi recognizes and degrades phage nucleic acids presumably through interactions with the phage replication machinery. The goals of this study are to identify and characterize phage variants that have evolved resistance to Nhi in order to shed more light on its precise mechanism of action.