Bacteriophages hijack 2′,3′-cNMPs to enhance transposase-mediated phage DNA integration in Acinetobacter baumannii (Science Advances)

Cui and colleagues report in Science Advances that Acinetobacter baumannii makes 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide monophosphates (2′,3′-cNMPs) with the ribonuclease RnaA and senses them through the receptor protein CRPAb, which affects the interaction with the promoters of target genes. Bacteriophages raise 2′,3′-cNMP levels to up-regulate transcription of the transposases and Mu-like integrases required for phage DNA integration, showing that phages can hijack this bacterial signal.