All living organisms face the problem of parasites — entities that thrive on others, often at the hosts’ expense. As a result, life is characterized by the presence of defence systems that keep such rogues in check. Most people are familiar with viruses and bacteria that use humans as their hosts, sometimes causing disease, and how the immune system defends against them. But this concept of parasitism and defence extends to the very molecules that encode life itself: DNA and RNA. Writing in Nature, Zhao et al.1 uncover an evolutionarily conserved RNA-processing mechanism for defending against DNA that has invaded the genome.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03734-w
References Zhao, L.-W. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09853-8 (2025). Wells, J. N. & Feschotte, C. Annu. Rev. Genet. 54, 539–561 (2020). Niault, T., van Houte, S., Westra, E. & Swarts, D. C. Curr. Biol. 35, R32–R44 (2025). Jouravleva, K. & Zamore, P. D. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 26, 347–370 (2025). Rosspopoff, O. & Trono, D. Trends Genet. 39, 844–857 (2023). Lehner, P. J. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 94, 361–386 (2025). Cosby, R. L., Chang, N.-C. & Feschotte, C. Genes Dev. 33, 1098–1116 (2019). Dumesic, P. A. & Madhani, H. D. Trends Biochem. Sci. 39, 25–34 (2014). Rushforth, A. M. & Anderson, P. Mol. Cell Biol. 16, 422–429 (1996). Download references
Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests.
Related Articles
Subjects