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Adaptation in bacterial CRISPR-Cas immunity can be driven by defective phages

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  • Alexander P. Hynes

    (de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Félix d’Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval)

  • Manuela Villion

    (de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Félix d’Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval
    Present address: Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec, Ministery of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, 2700 Einstein street, E2-220 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada G1P 3W8)

  • Sylvain Moineau

    (de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Félix d’Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses, Université Laval)

Abstract

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) and their associated cas genes serve as a prokaryotic ‘adaptive’ immune system, protecting against foreign DNA elements such as bacteriophages. CRISPR-Cas systems function by incorporating short DNA ‘spacers’, homologous to invading DNA sequences, into a CRISPR array (adaptation). The array is then transcribed and matured into RNA molecules (maturation) that target homologous DNA for cleavage (interference). It is unclear how these three stages could occur quickly enough in a naive phage-infected cell to interfere with phage replication before this cell would be irrevocably damaged by the infection. Here we demonstrate that cells can acquire spacers from defective phages at a rate directly proportional to the quantity of replication-deficient phages to which the cells are exposed. This process is reminiscent of immunization in humans by vaccination with inactivated viruses.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander P. Hynes & Manuela Villion & Sylvain Moineau, 2014. "Adaptation in bacterial CRISPR-Cas immunity can be driven by defective phages," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms5399
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5399
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    Cited by:

    1. Yekaterina S Pavlova & David Paez-Espino & Andrew Yu Morozov & Ilya S Belalov, 2021. "Searching for fat tails in CRISPR-Cas systems: Data analysis and mathematical modeling," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Janina Rahlff & Sarah P. Esser & Julia Plewka & Mara Elena Heinrichs & André Soares & Claudio Scarchilli & Paolo Grigioni & Heike Wex & Helge-Ansgar Giebel & Alexander J. Probst, 2023. "Marine viruses disperse bidirectionally along the natural water cycle," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Clemente F. Arias & Francisco J. Acosta & Federica Bertocchini & Miguel A. Herrero & Cristina Fernández-Arias, 2022. "The coordination of anti-phage immunity mechanisms in bacterial cells," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

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