‘Treasure trove’ of antiviral proteins could inspire powerful molecular tools Two research teams mined genomic data from bacteria to create databases containing thousands of antiviral defence proteins that could inspire powerful biotechnologies. By Miryam Naddaf

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01011-y?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=4b50fd2341-nature-briefing-daily-20260408&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 A ‘treasure trove’ of antiviral defences Researchers have identified hundreds of thousands of proteins that bacteria might use to fend off viral invaders. Two research teams developed machine-learning algorithms that screen bacterial genomes to catalogue the microorganisms’ defensive arsenals. Their analyses estimated that, on average, 1.5% of a bacterium’s genes correspond to antiviral proteins — three times more than previous estimates. The teams hope that their findings could lead to the next generation of molecular tools, with applications such as genetic engineering. “This is a treasure trove for any biochemist,” says microbiologist José Antonio Escudero.