Work

Recruitment of CRISPR-Cas systems by Tn7-like transposons

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Significance CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immunity system that protects bacteria and archaea from mobile genetic elements. We present comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis of minimal CRISPR-Cas variants associated with distinct families of transposable elements and develop the hypothesis that such repurposed defense systems contribute to the transposable element propagation by facilitating transposition into specific sites. Thus, these transposable elements are predicted to propagate via RNA-guided transposition, a mechanism that has not been previously described for DNA transposons.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1709035114

Authors: Joseph E. Peters, Kira S. Makarova, Sergey Shmakov, Eugene V. Koonin

Institutions: Cornell University, National Institutes of Health, National Center for Biotechnology Information, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. National Library of Medicine

Award: G1505942532