Using short synthetic nucleic acids to probe genes in viruses that infect bacteria

Earth’s most diverse biological entities are the viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophages (phages). They are rich resources for discovering proteins and tools for biotechnology, but many phage–bacteria systems resist genetic manipulation. Silencing phage genes in a non-genetic way with short synthetic nucleic acids offers a solution. A method to test the function of bacteriophage genes enables the exploration of their diverse genomes.