Evidence for the widespread distribution of CRISPR-Cas system in the Phylum Cyanobacteria.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Cai F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3737326 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Evidence for the widespread distribution of CRISPR-Cas system in the Phylum Cyanobacteria.
Cai Fei F Axen Seth D SD Kerfeld Cheryl A CA
RNA biology 20130411 5
Members of the phylum Cyanobacteria inhabit ecologically diverse environments. However, the CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, CRISPR associated genes), an extremely adaptable defense system, has not been surveyed in this phylum. We analyzed 126 cyanobacterial genomes and, surprisingly, found CRISPR-Cas in the majority except the marine subclade (Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus), in which cyanophages are a known force shaping their evolution. Multiple observ ...[more]
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