identifier: traitmech:000251 label: Azaca system definition: A phage defense system in which an organism possesses an Azaca locus represented by ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC profiles that can protect bacteria from bacteriophage infection. definition_source: DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.017 trait_category: GENOMICS term_kind: CLASS mapping_status: PROPOSED parent_traits: - traitmech:000209 synonyms: - synonym_text: Azaca synonym_type: EXACT_SYNONYM source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/List_system_article.md evidence: - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.017 snippet: discovery of 21 defense systems that protect bacteria from phages, based on computational genomic analyses and phage-infection experiments notes: Millman et al. report the computational and experimental cohort that DefenseFinder cites for Azaca as a bacterial anti-phage system. - reference: DOI:10.1101/2022.05.11.491447 snippet: discovery of 21 new defense systems that protect bacteria from phages, based on computational genomic analyses and phage infection experiments notes: The bioRxiv version of Millman et al. independently carries the 21-system discovery claim linked from DefenseFinder's Azaca article registry. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/List_system_article.md snippet: Azaca | 10\.1101/2022\.05\.11\.491447 | An expanding arsenal of immune systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: The DefenseFinder model registry maps the named Azaca system to the Millman et al. antiphage-system discovery preprint. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/DefenseFinder_rules.tsv snippet: "Azaca\tAzaca\t2\t3\tAzaca__ZacA, Azaca__ZacB, Azaca__ZacC" notes: The DefenseFinder rules table models Azaca with ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC mandatory-profile choices, requiring a three-gene minimum and at least two mandatory hits. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/Liste_hmm_system.md snippet: Azaca__ZacA | Azaca__ZacA | Azaca notes: The DefenseFinder HMM inventory records ZacA as an Azaca profile. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/Liste_hmm_system.md snippet: Azaca__ZacB | Azaca__ZacB | Azaca notes: The DefenseFinder HMM inventory records ZacB as an Azaca profile. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/Liste_hmm_system.md snippet: Azaca__ZacC | Azaca__ZacC | Azaca notes: The DefenseFinder HMM inventory records ZacC as an Azaca profile. causal_graphs: - graph_id: azaca_locus_restricts_phage title: Azaca loci confer bacterial phage defense description: Conservative system-level sketch linking possession of an Azaca locus to restricted bacteriophage propagation without asserting the unresolved phage trigger or molecular output. scope_status: NONMECHANISTIC scope_notes: The graph captures Azaca as a named anti-phage system with DefenseFinder ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC profiles while leaving its phage trigger, molecular substrate, antiviral effector output, and subtype breadth unresolved. nodes: - node_id: azaca_locus label: Azaca locus node_type: GENETIC_ELEMENT description: An Azaca anti-phage defense locus satisfying a DefenseFinder rule over ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC profiles. - node_id: restricted_phage_propagation label: restricted phage propagation node_type: BIOLOGICAL_PROCESS description: Reduced propagation of bacteriophage in cells carrying the Azaca system. - node_id: azaca_system_trait label: Azaca system node_type: TRAIT grounding: traitmech:000251 description: Possession of a genome-encoded Azaca phage-defense system. - node_id: phage_defense_system label: phage defense system node_type: TRAIT grounding: traitmech:000209 description: Possession of one or more genome-encoded immune systems that inhibit bacteriophage infection. edges: - subject: azaca_locus predicate: contributes to predicate_id: RO:0002326 object: restricted_phage_propagation description: DefenseFinder maps Azaca to a bacterial anti-phage-system discovery preprint and represents Azaca loci through ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC component profiles. evidence: - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.017 snippet: discovery of 21 defense systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: Millman et al. describe the anti-phage discovery cohort that the DefenseFinder Azaca registry row maps to the Azaca system. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/List_system_article.md snippet: Azaca | 10\.1101/2022\.05\.11\.491447 | An expanding arsenal of immune systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: The DefenseFinder registry maps Azaca itself to the Millman et al. bacterial antiphage-system discovery preprint. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/DefenseFinder_rules.tsv snippet: "Azaca\tAzaca\t2\t3\tAzaca__ZacA, Azaca__ZacB, Azaca__ZacC" notes: The DefenseFinder rules table supports ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC as Azaca system profile choices. - subject: restricted_phage_propagation predicate: confers predicate_id: METPO:2007700 object: azaca_system_trait description: Azaca-mediated phage restriction realizes the Azaca system trait. evidence: - reference: DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.017 snippet: discovery of 21 defense systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: Millman et al. place the Azaca discovery cohort in the set of bacterial systems that protect against phages. - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/List_system_article.md snippet: Azaca | 10\.1101/2022\.05\.11\.491447 | An expanding arsenal of immune systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: DefenseFinder records Azaca as a named system from the Millman et al. antiphage discovery preprint. - subject: azaca_system_trait predicate: is a predicate_id: rdfs:subClassOf object: phage_defense_system description: Azaca system possession is a phage-defense-system trait. evidence: - reference: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdmparis/defense-finder-models/afb0e5a8b466be53586b13266f5d38d98c3ac268/List_system_article.md snippet: An expanding arsenal of immune systems that protect bacteria from phages notes: DefenseFinder associates Azaca with the Millman et al. bacterial antiphage-system discovery paper. discussions: - discussion_id: azaca-mechanism-gap prompt: Resolve Azaca phage triggers and effector outputs before minting narrower Azaca mechanism children. kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP status: OPEN rationale: Millman et al. and DefenseFinder support Azaca as a named anti-phage system with ZacA, ZacB, and ZacC profiles, but the trigger, molecular substrate, antiviral effector output, and subtype-specific mechanism are not resolved enough here to assert a narrower mechanistic child trait. attaches_to: - causal_graphs#azaca_locus_restricts_phage posed_by: codex posed_date: '2026-09-18' curation_history: - timestamp: '2026-09-18T21:21:49Z' curator: codex action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID changes: Minted Azaca system as a DOI-backed GENOMICS TraitRecord under phage defense system after an ignored-and-hidden duplicate review found no exact live TraitMech, METPO, or prior proposal record; the replacement placeholder is reserved in proposals/metpo_traitmech_v128. llm_assisted: true