Characterization and Exploitation of CRISPR Loci in Bifidobacterium longum.

ABSTRACT: Diverse CRISPR-Cas systems provide adaptive immunity in many bacteria and most archaea, via a DNA-encoded, RNA-mediated, nucleic-acid targeting mechanism. Over time, CRISPR loci expand via iterative uptake of invasive DNA sequences into the CRISPR array during the adaptation process. These genetic vaccination cards thus provide insights into the exposure of strains to phages and plasmids in space and time, revealing the historical predatory exposure of a strain. These genetic loci thus constitute a unique basis for genotyping of strains, with potential of resolution at the strain-level. Here, we investigate the occurrence and diversity of CRISPR-Cas systems in the genomes of various Bifidobacterium longum strains across three sub-species. Specifically, we analyzed the genomic content of 66

SUBMITTER: Hidalgo-Cantabrana C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5626976 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature