Characterization of CRISPR RNA transcription by exploiting stranded metatranscriptomic data.

ABSTRACT: CRISPR-Cas systems are bacterial adaptive immune systems, each typically composed of a locus of cas genes and a CRISPR array of spacers flanked by repeats. Processed transcripts of CRISPR arrays (crRNAs) play important roles in the interference process mediated by these systems, guiding targeted immunity. Here we developed computational approaches that allow us to characterize the expression of many CRISPRs in their natural environments, using community RNA-seq (metatranscriptomic) data. By exploiting public human gut metatranscriptomic data sets, we studied the expression of 56 repeat-sequence types of CRISPRs, revealing that most CRISPRs are transcribed in one direction (producing crRNAs). In rarer cases, including a type II system associated with Bacteroides fragilis, CRISPRs are transc

SUBMITTER: Ye Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4911918 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature