Depletion of m ⁶ A-RNA in <i>Escherichia coli</i> reduces the infectious potential of T5 bacteriophage

The importance of RNA modifications has been thoroughly studied in the context of eukaryotic viral infections. However, their role in bacterial hosts during phage infections is largely unexplored. Our research delves into this gap by investigating the effect of host <i>N</i> ⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A)-RNA modifications during phage infection. We found that an <i>Escherichia coli</i> mutant depleted of m⁶A-RNA is less susceptible to T5 infection than the wild type. This finding emphasizes the need to further investigate how RNA modifications affect the fine-tuned regulation of individual bacterial survival in the presence of phages to ensure population survival.