Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity
Type II CRISPR-Cas systems provide immunity against phages and plasmids that infect bacteria through the insertion of a short sequence from the invader’s genome, known as the ‘spacer’, into the CRISPR locus. Spacers are transcribed into guide RNAs that direct the Cas9 nuclease to its target on the i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2020-03-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/53078 |
| _version_ | 1811199338943086592 |
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| author | Nora C Pyenson Luciano A Marraffini |
| author_facet | Nora C Pyenson Luciano A Marraffini |
| author_sort | Nora C Pyenson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Type II CRISPR-Cas systems provide immunity against phages and plasmids that infect bacteria through the insertion of a short sequence from the invader’s genome, known as the ‘spacer’, into the CRISPR locus. Spacers are transcribed into guide RNAs that direct the Cas9 nuclease to its target on the invader. In liquid cultures, most bacteria acquire a single spacer. Multiple spacer integration is a rare event which significance for immunity is poorly understood. Here, we found that when phage infections occur on solid media, a high proportion of the surviving colonies display complex morphologies that contain cells with multiple spacers. This is the result of the viral-host co-evolution, in which the immunity provided by the initial acquired spacer is easily overcome by escaper phages. Our results reveal the versatility of CRISPR-Cas immunity, which can respond with both single or multiple spacer acquisition schemes to solve challenges presented by different environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:46:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b2344788d70942f1a51eb144e0be8c8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:46:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-b2344788d70942f1a51eb144e0be8c8c2022-12-22T03:53:03ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2020-03-01910.7554/eLife.53078Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunityNora C Pyenson0Luciano A Marraffini1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9163-0969Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United StatesLaboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, United StatesType II CRISPR-Cas systems provide immunity against phages and plasmids that infect bacteria through the insertion of a short sequence from the invader’s genome, known as the ‘spacer’, into the CRISPR locus. Spacers are transcribed into guide RNAs that direct the Cas9 nuclease to its target on the invader. In liquid cultures, most bacteria acquire a single spacer. Multiple spacer integration is a rare event which significance for immunity is poorly understood. Here, we found that when phage infections occur on solid media, a high proportion of the surviving colonies display complex morphologies that contain cells with multiple spacers. This is the result of the viral-host co-evolution, in which the immunity provided by the initial acquired spacer is easily overcome by escaper phages. Our results reveal the versatility of CRISPR-Cas immunity, which can respond with both single or multiple spacer acquisition schemes to solve challenges presented by different environments.https://elifesciences.org/articles/53078CRISPRbacteriophagecoevolution |
| spellingShingle | Nora C Pyenson Luciano A Marraffini Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity eLife CRISPR bacteriophage coevolution |
| title | Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity |
| title_full | Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity |
| title_fullStr | Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity |
| title_short | Co-evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of CRISPR loci and enhanced immunity |
| title_sort | co evolution within structured bacterial communities results in multiple expansion of crispr loci and enhanced immunity |
| topic | CRISPR bacteriophage coevolution |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/53078 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT noracpyenson coevolutionwithinstructuredbacterialcommunitiesresultsinmultipleexpansionofcrisprlociandenhancedimmunity AT lucianoamarraffini coevolutionwithinstructuredbacterialcommunitiesresultsinmultipleexpansionofcrisprlociandenhancedimmunity |