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Spatial structure and Lamarckian adaptation explain extreme genetic diversity at CRISPR locus
1Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. haerter@nbi.dk
Mbio
|July 19, 2012
Summary
Bacterial populations with clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) immunity diversity can coexist. Spatial spread and Lamarckian CRISPR evolution sustain this spacer diversity, preventing subpopulation collapse.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Bacterial clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) systems exhibit significant spacer variability even within similar strains.
- CRISPR immunity levels against phages are crucial for bacterial population dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model bacterial strain coexistence under varying CRISPR immunity levels.
- To investigate the factors sustaining CRISPR spacer diversity in bacterial populations.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of bacterial populations with differing CRISPR immunity.
- Numerical simulation of population spread in spatial environments.
Main Results:
- Coexistence of bacterial strains is possible only with distinct differences in CRISPR immunity levels in well-mixed environments.
- Similar strains lead to subpopulation collapse.
- Spatial correlations combined with Lamarckian CRISPR evolution maintain observed spacer diversity.
Conclusions:
- CRISPR spacer diversity is dynamically maintained by a combination of Lamarckian evolution and spatial population structure.
- Understanding CRISPR evolution is key to predicting bacterial population dynamics and phage resistance.
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