An Endogenous Staphylococcus aureus CRISPR-Cas System Limits Phage Proliferation and Is Efficiently Excised from the Genome as Part of the SCC <i>mec</i> Cassette
Kasper Mikkelsen, Janine Zara Bowring, Duncan Y. K. Ng, Frida Svanberg Frisinger, Julie Kjærsgaard Maglegaard, Qiuchun Li, Raphael N. Sieber, Andreas Petersen, Paal Skytt Andersen, Jakob T. Rostøl, Nina Molin Høyland‐Kroghsbo, Hanne Ingmer
Abstract
elements in different species of non-S. aureus staphylococci, indicating that the system is mobile but only rarely acquires new spacers in S. aureus. Additionally, we show that in its endogenous form, the S. aureus CRISPR-Cas is active but inefficient against lytic phages that can overload the system or form escape mutants. Thus, we propose that CRISPR-Cas in S. aureus offers only partial immunity in native systems and so may work with other defense systems to prevent phage-mediated killing.
Topics & Concepts
Staphylococcus aureusCRISPRGenomeBiologyEndogenyMicrobiologyComputational biologyGeneticsBacteriaGeneEndocrinologyCRISPR and Genetic EngineeringRNA and protein synthesis mechanismsViral Infections and Immunology Research