Bactaegion does not duplicate any scientific data. Everything comes from public databases.
The system that doesn't tolerate foreign circular DNA.
Complexe à quatre sous-unités (JetA-D) qui détecte et clive spécifiquement l'ADN circulaire fermé (plasmides, ADN phagique). Mécanisme défensif anti-plasmide largement répandu mais pertinence virologique humaine limitée à ce stade.
The Wadjet eye in Egyptian mythology was worn as an amulet to ward off evil. The Wadjet anti-phage system is a four-protein complex (JetA-D) that specifically detects closed circular DNA — that is, the typical topology of plasmids and phage DNA. How? By probing torsion: a closed circular DNA cannot relax its torsions, and Wadjet "feels" this property. Once detected, it cleaves. It's immunity through topology, not sequence — therefore impossible to dodge through viral genome mutation, unless the virus goes linear.
The "topology sensing" mechanism is conceptually analogous to human NLR inflammasomes that detect conserved structures without looking at sequence. Wadjet is a simplified model for studying conditional activation of NLRs — a major target in inflammatory diseases (CAPS, gout, sepsis).
The Wadjet complex shares its SMC fold with Lamassu (and therefore with human condensin), but with an opposite logic: Lamassu detects aberrant nucleic acids, Wadjet detects a specific topology (closed circular). Same tool, two uses — like a knife that can serve as a screwdriver or a pry bar.
No open lead yet. Frame the first one.
