The CRISPR-Cas gene scissors offer a wide range of potential applications, from the treatment of genetic diseases to antiviral therapies and diagnostics. However, to safely harness their powers, scientists are searching for mechanisms that can regulate or inhibit the systems’ activity. Enter the anti-CRISPR protein AcrVIB1, a promising inhibitor whose exact function has remained a mystery—until now. A research team from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg, in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, has uncovered the precise way AcrVIB1 works that expands the known means by which Acrs can shut down CRISPR. The results were published today in the journal Molecular Cell.

Construction of a modern new building for the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) will begin this year on the University of Greifswald's Berthold-Beitz-Platz campus. Founded in 2021 as a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), the institute works closely with its local founding partners, the University of Greifswald, the University Medical Centre Greifswald and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut. In line with the One Health approach, which considers human, animal and environmental health as an inseparable whole, the HIOH combines a variety of scientific disciplines. The common goal is to better understand the emergence of zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance and the evolution of pathogens, and thus reduce the risk of new pandemics. In an increasingly interconnected world, in which pathogens that can be transmitted from animals to humans can travel across the globe in no time and develop resistance to drugs, the HIOH is making a decisive contribution to research into the origin and transmission of such infections – and is thus creating the basis for effective pandemic prevention measures.

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is a vibrant country in West Africa with rich cultural traditions and diverse ecosystems. Despite its beauty and vitality, the country faces significant challenges in its health system, particularly with regard to infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These challenges are exacerbated by limited healthcare expenditure, which remains among the lowest in the world. Infectious diseases, the risk of zoonotic transmission (i.e., infectious diseases that can spread from animals to humans) and the high burden of healthcare-associated infections pose serious public health problems and make Côte d'Ivoire a priority country for international health cooperation.