title: The origin of the bacterial immune response.
abstract: Bacteriophages are probably the oldest viruses, having appeared early during bacterial evolution. Therefore, bacteria and bacteriophages have a long history of co-evolution in which bacteria have developed multiple resistance mechanisms against bacteriophages. These mechanisms, that are very diverse and are in constant evolution, allow the survival of the bacteria. Bacteriophages have adapted to bacterial defense systems, devised strategies to evade these anti-phage mechanisms and restored their infective capacity. In this chapter, we review the bacterial strategies that hinder the phage infection as well as the counter-defense mechanisms developed.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez-Borra
authors.forename: Segundo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: López-Larrea
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology*