Dataset Information

CRISPR-Cas immunity and mobile DNA: a new superfamily of DNA transposons encoding a Cas1 endonuclease.

ABSTRACT: Mobile genetic elements such as DNA transposons are a feature of most genomes. The existence of novel DNA transposons can be inferred when whole genome sequencing reveals the presence of hallmarks of mobile elements such as terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) flanked by target site duplications (TSDs). A recent report describes a new superfamily of DNA transposons in the genomes of a few bacteria and archaea that possess TIRs and TSDs, and encode several conserved genes including a cas1 endonuclease gene, previously associated only with CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems. The data strongly suggests that these elements, designated 'casposons', are likely to be bona fide DNA transposons and that their Cas1 nucleases act as transposases and are possibly still active.

SUBMITTER: Hickman AB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4150552 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

CRISPR-Cas immunity and mobile DNA: a new superfamily of DNA transposons encoding a Cas1 endonuclease.

Hickman Alison B AB Dyda Fred F

Mobile DNA 20140826

Mobile genetic elements such as DNA transposons are a feature of most genomes. The existence of novel DNA transposons can be inferred when whole genome sequencing reveals the presence of hallmarks of mobile elements such as terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) flanked by target site duplications (TSDs). A recent report describes a new superfamily of DNA transposons in the genomes of a few bacteria and archaea that possess TIRs and TSDs, and encode several conserved genes including a cas1 endonucleas ...[more]

PMID: 25180049

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Project description:CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) and the nearby Cas (CRISPR-associated) operon establish an RNA-based adaptive immunity system in prokaryotes. Molecular memory is created when a short foreign DNA-derived prespacer is integrated into the CRISPR array as a new spacer. Whereas the RNA-guided CRISPR interference mechanism varies widely among CRISPR-Cas systems, the spacer integration mechanism is essentially identical. The conserved Cas1 and Cas2 proteins form an integrase complex consisting of two distal Cas1 dimers bridged by a Cas2 dimer. The prespacer is bound by Cas1-Cas2 as a dual-forked DNA, and the terminal 3'-OH of each 3' overhang serves as an attacking nucleophile during integration. The prespacer is preferentially integrated into the leader-proximal region of the CRISPR array, guided by the leader sequence and a pair of inverted repeats inside the CRISPR repeat. Spacer integration in the well-studied Escherichia coli type I-E CRISPR system also relies on the bacterial integration host factor. In type II-A CRISPR, however, Cas1-Cas2 alone integrates spacers efficiently in vitro; other Cas proteins (such as Cas9 and Csn2) have accessory roles in the biogenesis phase of prespacers. Here we present four structural snapshots from the type II-A system of Enterococcus faecalis Cas1 and Cas2 during spacer integration. Enterococcus faecalis Cas1-Cas2 selectively binds to a splayed 30-base-pair prespacer bearing 4-nucleotide 3' overhangs. Three molecular events take place upon encountering a target: first, the Cas1-Cas2-prespacer complex searches for half-sites stochastically, then it preferentially interacts with the leader-side CRISPR repeat, and finally, it catalyses a nucleophilic attack that connects one strand of the leader-proximal repeat to the prespacer 3' overhang. Recognition of the spacer half-site requires DNA bending and leads to full integration. We derive a mechanistic framework to explain the stepwise spacer integration process and the leader-proximal preference.

Dataset Information

CRISPR-Cas immunity and mobile DNA: a new superfamily of DNA transposons encoding a Cas1 endonuclease.

Publications

CRISPR-Cas immunity and mobile DNA: a new superfamily of DNA transposons encoding a Cas1 endonuclease.

Similar Datasets

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