Interfering with retrotransposition by two types of CRISPR effectors: Cas12a and Cas13a.

ABSTRACT: CRISPRs are a promising tool being explored in combating exogenous retroviral pathogens and in disabling endogenous retroviruses for organ transplantation. The Cas12a and Cas13a systems offer novel mechanisms of CRISPR actions that have not been evaluated for retrovirus interference. Particularly, a latest study revealed that the activated Cas13a provided bacterial hosts with a "passive protection" mechanism to defend against DNA phage infection by inducing cell growth arrest in infected cells, which is especially significant as it endows Cas13a, a RNA-targeting CRISPR effector, with mount defense against both RNA and DNA invaders. Here, by refitting long terminal repeat retrotransposon Tf1 as a model system, which shares common features with retrovirus regarding their replication mechanis

SUBMITTER: Zhang N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7235257 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature