Dual sensing activates antiviral reverse transcriptase for membrane targeting.

Dual activation of bacterial DRT2 reverse transcriptase by phage-encoded SSB and elevated dGTP triggers membrane-targeting Neo protein production.

• Why it matters: Understanding how DRT2 is activated is crucial for revealing bacterial antiviral defense mechanisms and could inform biotechnological applications.
• What they did: The study identified two activation pathways: direct binding of a phage SSB protein and detection of increased intracellular dGTP levels, using cryo-EM structures and engineered ncRNA templates.
• The result: Activation enables DRT2 to produce a large-scale dsDNA template in vivo, with Neo targeting membranes to induce depolarization and growth arrest, advancing potential biotechnological uses.