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Cas13 Helps Bacteria Play Dead when the Enemy Strikes

Senén D Mendoza1, Joseph Bondy-Denomy1

  • 1Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143.

Cell Host & Microbe
|July 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

The CRISPR-Cas13 system protects against viruses by detecting viral RNA and triggering cell dormancy, not by cutting viral DNA. This mechanism provides herd immunity against double-stranded DNA phages.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Microbial Genetics
  • Bacteriophage Research

Background:

  • The precise mechanism of RNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas13 in phage defense remained unclear.
  • CRISPR-Cas systems are crucial for bacterial immunity against mobile genetic elements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the function of CRISPR-Cas13 as a phage defense system.
  • To investigate how Cas13 confers immunity against double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) phages.

Main Methods:

  • Observational studies on CRISPR-Cas13 activity in bacterial hosts.
  • Analysis of host-phage interactions and transcriptomic profiling.

Main Results:

  • Cas13 provides potent immunity against dsDNA phages without targeting their genomic DNA.
  • The system functions by sensing phage-derived RNA transcripts.
  • Nonspecific RNA degradation by Cas13 induces cellular dormancy, halting phage replication.

Conclusions:

  • CRISPR-Cas13 utilizes RNA sensing and non-specific RNA degradation to establish phage immunity.
  • This RNA-targeting mechanism confers 'herd immunity' by protecting the bacterial population from phage infection.

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