Journal
INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 4, Pages 473-498Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10123-021-00208-7
Keywords
CRISPR; Cas proteins; Adaptive immunity; RNA-guided transposition; Non-canonical CRISPR roles; CRISPR regulation
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Funding
- Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport, Generalitat Valenciana, Spain [PROMETEO/2017/129]
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CRISPR-Cas systems are acknowledged as playing various roles in bacteria and archaea, especially in providing protection against transmissible genetic elements. This review summarises the current knowledge on the diversity, molecular mechanisms, and biology of CRISPR-Cas systems, with a focus on recent findings related to their activity.
A long time has passed since regularly interspaced DNA repeats were discovered in prokaryotes. Today, those enigmatic repetitive elements termed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are acknowledged as an emblematic part of multicomponent CRISPR-Cas (CRISPR associated) systems. These systems are involved in a variety of roles in bacteria and archaea, notably, that of conferring protection against transmissible genetic elements through an adaptive immune-like response. This review summarises the present knowledge on the diversity, molecular mechanisms and biology of CRISPR-Cas. We pay special attention to the most recent findings related to the determinants and consequences of CRISPR-Cas activity. Research on the basic features of these systems illustrates how instrumental the study of prokaryotes is for understanding biology in general, ultimately providing valuable tools for diverse fields and fuelling research beyond the mainstream.
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