AI Summary
Scientists have discovered a new way viruses suppress the CRISPR-Cas immune systems of bacteria. This finding could help us understand microbial dynamics, improve gene editing, and find alternatives to antibiotics.
A microscopic discovery will not only enable scientists to understand the microbial world around us but could also provide a new way to control CRISPR-Cas biotechnologies.
An international team of researchers led by Professor Peter Fineran from the University of Otago and Dr Rafael Pinilla-Redondo from the University of Copenhagen has published a study in the prestigious journal Nature revealing new way viruses suppress the CRISPR-Cas immune systems of bacteria.
Co-first author Dr David Mayo-Muñoz, of the Phage-host interactions (Phi) laboratory in Otago’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, says this finding could teach us about microbial dynamics in the environment, be used to make gene editing safer, and lead to more efficient alternatives to antibiotics.
The discovery is exciting for the scientific community because it provides a greater understanding of how CRISPR-Cas defences can be stopped.”
Dr David Mayo-Muñoz, co-first author
CRISPR-Cas are immune systems bacteria have that protect them from getting infected by bacterial viruses – called phages. It works by taking pieces of phage DNA and adding it to the bacterium’s genome. Bacteria end up with a memory bank of past phage infections which it files like mugshots, using them to identify and degrade that specific phage when it attacks again.
“If a virus comes in, part of its DNA is added to the memory bank, and then turned from DNA to RNA in the process. Each RNA acts like a guide so the CRISPR-Cas system can correctly identify and destroy the invading phage. Each