CRISPR interference limits horizontal gene transfer in staphylococci by targeting DNA.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Marraffini LA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2695655 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
CRISPR interference limits horizontal gene transfer in staphylococci by targeting DNA.
Marraffini Luciano A LA Sontheimer Erik J EJ
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20081201 5909
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacteria and archaea occurs through phage transduction, transformation, or conjugation, and the latter is particularly important for the spread of antibiotic resistance. Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) loci confer sequence-directed immunity against phages. A clinical isolate of Staphylococcus epidermidis harbors a CRISPR spacer that matches the nickase gene present in nearly all staphylococcal conjugative plasmids. Here we sho ...[more]
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