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Interference-driven spacer acquisition is dominant over naive and primed adaptation in a native CRISPR-Cas system.

ABSTRACT: CRISPR-Cas systems provide bacteria with adaptive immunity against foreign nucleic acids by acquiring short, invader-derived sequences called spacers. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing to analyse millions of spacer acquisition events in wild-type populations of Pectobacterium atrosepticum. Plasmids not previously encountered, or plasmids that had escaped CRISPR-Cas targeting via point mutation, are used to provoke naive or primed spacer acquisition, respectively. The origin, location and order of spacer acquisition show that spacer selection through priming initiates near the site of CRISPR-Cas recognition (the protospacer), but on the displaced strand, and is consistent with 3'-5' translocation of the Cas1:Cas2-3 acquisition machinery. Newly acquired spacers determine the location and strand specificity of subsequent spacers and demonstrate that interference-driven spacer acquisition ('targeted acquisition') is a major contributor to adaptation in type I-F CRISPR-Cas systems. Finally, we show that acquisition of self-targeting spacers is occurring at a constant rate in wild-type cells and can be triggered by foreign DNA with similarity to the bacterial chromosome.

SUBMITTER: Staals RH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5059440 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interference-driven spacer acquisition is dominant over naive and primed adaptation in a native CRISPR-Cas system.

Staals Raymond H J RH Jackson Simon A SA Biswas Ambarish A Brouns Stan J J SJ Brown Chris M CM Fineran Peter C PC

Nature communications 20161003

CRISPR-Cas systems provide bacteria with adaptive immunity against foreign nucleic acids by acquiring short, invader-derived sequences called spacers. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing to analyse millions of spacer acquisition events in wild-type populations of Pectobacterium atrosepticum. Plasmids not previously encountered, or plasmids that had escaped CRISPR-Cas targeting via point mutation, are used to provoke naive or primed spacer acquisition, respectively. The origin, location and o ...[more]

PMID: 27694798

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Project description:BackgroundCRISPR/Cas is a widespread adaptive immune system in prokaryotes. This system integrates short stretches of DNA derived from invading nucleic acids into genomic CRISPR loci, which function as memory of previously encountered invaders. In Escherichia coli, transcripts of these loci are cleaved into small RNAs and utilized by the Cascade complex to bind invader DNA, which is then likely degraded by Cas3 during CRISPR interference.ResultsWe describe how a CRISPR-activated E. coli K12 is cured from a high copy number plasmid under non-selective conditions in a CRISPR-mediated way. Cured clones integrated at least one up to five anti-plasmid spacers in genomic CRISPR loci. New spacers are integrated directly downstream of the leader sequence. The spacers are non-randomly selected to target protospacers with an AAG protospacer adjacent motif, which is located directly upstream of the protospacer. A co-occurrence of PAM deviations and CRISPR repeat mutations was observed, indicating that one nucleotide from the PAM is incorporated as the last nucleotide of the repeat during integration of a new spacer. When multiple spacers were integrated in a single clone, all spacer targeted the same strand of the plasmid, implying that CRISPR interference caused by the first integrated spacer directs subsequent spacer acquisition events in a strand specific manner.ConclusionsThe E. coli Type I-E CRISPR/Cas system provides resistance against bacteriophage infection, but also enables removal of residing plasmids. We established that there is a positive feedback loop between active spacers in a cluster--in our case the first acquired spacer--and spacers acquired thereafter, possibly through the use of specific DNA degradation products of the CRISPR interference machinery by the CRISPR adaptation machinery. This loop enables a rapid expansion of the spacer repertoire against an actively present DNA element that is already targeted, amplifying the CRISPR interference effect.

Dataset Information

Interference-driven spacer acquisition is dominant over naive and primed adaptation in a native CRISPR-Cas system.

Publications

Interference-driven spacer acquisition is dominant over naive and primed adaptation in a native CRISPR-Cas system.

Similar Datasets

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