DISARM is a widespread bacterial defence system with broad anti-phage activities

The evolutionary pressure imposed by phage predation on bacteria and archaea has resulted in the development of effective anti-phage defence mechanisms, including restriction–modification and CRISPR–Cas systems. Here, we report on a new defence system, DISARM (defence island system associated with restriction–modification), which is widespread in bacteria and archaea. DISARM is composed of five genes, including a DNA methylase and four other...