Phage Genetic Engineering Using CRISPR⁻Cas Systems.

ABSTRACT: Since their discovery over a decade ago, the class of prokaryotic immune systems known as CRISPR⁻Cas have afforded a suite of genetic tools that have revolutionized research in model organisms spanning all domains of life. CRISPR-mediated tools have also emerged for the natural targets of CRISPR⁻Cas immunity, the viruses that specifically infect bacteria, or phages. Despite their status as the most abundant biological entities on the planet, the majority of phage genes have unassigned functions. This reality underscores the need for robust genetic tools to study them. Recent reports have demonstrated that CRISPR⁻Cas systems, specifically the three major types (I, II, and III), can be harnessed to genetically engineer phages that infect diverse hosts. Here, the mechanisms of each of these s

SUBMITTER: Hatoum-Aslan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6024849 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature