Systematic prediction of genes functionally linked to CRISPR-Cas systems by gene neighborhood analysis.

ABSTRACT: The CRISPR-Cas systems of bacterial and archaeal adaptive immunity consist of direct repeat arrays separated by unique spacers and multiple CRISPR-associated (cas) genes encoding proteins that mediate all stages of the CRISPR response. In addition to the relatively small set of core cas genes that are typically present in all CRISPR-Cas systems of a given (sub)type and are essential for the defense function, numerous genes occur in CRISPR-cas loci only sporadically. Some of these have been shown to perform various ancillary roles in CRISPR response, but the functional relevance of most remains unknown. We developed a computational strategy for systematically detecting genes that are likely to be functionally linked to CRISPR-Cas. The approach is based on a "CRISPRicity

SUBMITTER: Shmakov SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003329 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature