Identification of Uncharacterized Components of Prokaryotic Immune Systems and Their Diverse Eukaryotic Reformulations.

ABSTRACT: Nucleotide-activated effector deployment, prototyped by interferon-dependent immunity, is a common mechanistic theme shared by immune systems of several animals and prokaryotes. Prokaryotic versions include CRISPR-Cas with the CRISPR polymerase domain, their minimal variants, and systems with second messenger oligonucleotide or dinucleotide synthetase (SMODS). Cyclic or linear oligonucleotide signals in these systems help set a threshold for the activation of potentially deleterious downstream effectors in response to invader detection. We establish such a regulatory mechanism to be a more general principle of immune systems, which can also operate independently of such messengers. Using sensitive sequence analysis and comparative genomics, we identify 12 new prokaryotic immune systems, wh

SUBMITTER: Burroughs AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7685563 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature