Abstract 1818 Nucleic acid-mediated higher-order assemblies in immunity

Organisms across all domains of life, from bacteria to humans, have evolved immune systems that form oligomeric complexes with nucleic acids to initiate robust immune defenses-such as the phase-separated droplets formed by cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) and DNA. Leveraging biochemical and structural analyses, we elucidated the assembly and activation mechanisms of a supramolecular complex comprising immune sensors and nucleic acids. Specifically, we investigated the retron Ec86 system, which includes a reverse transcriptase (RT), a non-coding RNA (msrRNA), a reverse-transcribed DNA (msdDNA), and an effector protein possessing a nucleoside deoxyribosyltransferase-like domain.