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CRISPR-Cas immunity in prokaryotes

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  • Luciano A. Marraffini

    (Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University)

Abstract

Prokaryotic organisms are threatened by a large array of viruses and have developed numerous defence strategies. Among these, only clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas systems provide adaptive immunity against foreign elements. Upon viral injection, a small sequence of the viral genome, known as a spacer, is integrated into the CRISPR locus to immunize the host cell. Spacers are transcribed into small RNA guides that direct the cleavage of the viral DNA by Cas nucleases. Immunization through spacer acquisition enables a unique form of evolution whereby a population not only rapidly acquires resistance to its predators but also passes this resistance mechanism vertically to its progeny.

Suggested Citation

  • Luciano A. Marraffini, 2015. "CRISPR-Cas immunity in prokaryotes," Nature, Nature, vol. 526(7571), pages 55-61, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:526:y:2015:i:7571:d:10.1038_nature15386
    DOI: 10.1038/nature15386
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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.

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