Diverse evolutionary roots and mechanistic variations of the CRISPR-Cas systems.

Science
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Adaptive immunity had been long thought of as an exclusive feature of animals. However, the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas defense system, present in almost half of prokaryotic genomes, proves otherwise. Because of the everlasting parasite-host arms race, CRISPR-Cas has rapidly evolved through horizontal transfer of complete loci or individual modules, resulting in extreme structural and functional diversity. CRISPR-Cas systems are divided into two distinct classes that each consist of three types and multiple subtypes. We discuss recent advances in CRISPR-Cas research that reveal elaborate molecular mechanisms and provide for a plausible scenario of CRISPR-Cas evolution. We also briefly describe the latest developments of a wide range of CRISPR-based applications.

Year of Publication
2016
Journal
Science
Volume
353
Issue
6299
Pages
aad5147
Date Published
2016 Aug 05
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.aad5147
PubMed ID
27493190
Links
Grant list
1R01-MH110049 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
5DP1-MH100706 / DP / NCCDPHP CDC HHS / United States
5R01DK097768-03 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
Intramural NIH HHS / United States