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Type I-F CRISPR-Cas resistance against virulent phages results in abortive infection and provides population-level immunity.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Watson, Bridget NJ 
Vercoe, Reuben B 
Salmond, George PC 

Abstract

Type I CRISPR-Cas systems are abundant and widespread adaptive immune systems in bacteria and can greatly enhance bacterial survival in the face of phage infection. Upon phage infection, some CRISPR-Cas immune responses result in bacterial dormancy or slowed growth, which suggests the outcomes for infected cells may vary between systems. Here we demonstrate that type I CRISPR immunity of Pectobacterium atrosepticum leads to suppression of two unrelated virulent phages, ɸTE and ɸM1. Immunity results in an abortive infection response, where infected cells do not survive, but viral propagation is severely decreased, resulting in population protection due to the reduced phage epidemic. Our findings challenge the view of CRISPR-Cas as a system that protects the individual cell and supports growing evidence of abortive infection by some types of CRISPR-Cas systems.

Description

Keywords

Bacteria, Bacterial Infections, Bacteriophages, CRISPR-Cas Systems, Microbial Viability, Pectobacterium, Virus Replication

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

10

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K001833/1)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/N008081/1)
BBSRC, UK. See below This work was supported by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand (PCF), the Marsden Fund, RSNZ, the Bio-protection Research Centre (Tertiary Education Commission), a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship (to BNJW), the BBSRC (BB/K001833/1 and BB/N008081/1 to GPCS), a Veni grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [016.Veni.171.047 to RHJS] and a Health Sciences Career Development Award from the University of Otago (to RHJS).