15 February, 2026
A study led by Prof. Asaf Levy of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment explains how bacteria "direct” a tiny protein syringe derived from viruses to attach to different cell types and inject proteins into them.
The researchers found that the type of cell to which the syringe attaches is determined by a single protein, and switching this protein causes the syringe to attach to a different type of cell.
The findings were published in Nature Communications.