Erwinia amylovora CRISPR elements provide new tools for evaluating strain diversity and for microbial source tracking.

ABSTRACT: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) comprise a family of short DNA repeat sequences that are separated by non repetitive spacer sequences and, in combination with a suite of Cas proteins, are thought to function as an adaptive immune system against invading DNA. The number of CRISPR arrays in a bacterial chromosome is variable, and the content of each array can differ in both repeat number and in the presence or absence of specific spacers. We utilized a comparative sequence analysis of CRISPR arrays of the plant pathogen Erwinia amylovora to uncover previously unknown genetic diversity in this species. A total of 85 E. amylovora strains varying in geographic isolation (North America, Europe, New Zealand, and the Middle East), host range, plasmid content, an

SUBMITTER: McGhee GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3409226 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature