CRISPR Contributes to Adhesion, Invasion, and Biofilm Formation in Streptococcus agalactiae by Repressing Capsular Polysaccharide Production.

ABSTRACT: The clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) system functions classically as a prokaryotic defense system against invading mobile genetic elements, such as phages, plasmids, and viruses. Our previous study revealed that CRISPR deletion caused increased transcription of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) synthesis-related genes and severely attenuated virulence in the hypervirulent piscine Streptococcus agalactiae strain GD201008-001. Here, we found that CRISPR deficiency resulted in reduced adhesion, invasion, and biofilm formation abilities in this strain by upregulating the production of CPS. However, enhanced CPS production was not responsible for the attenuated phenotype of the ΔCRISPR mutant. RNA degradation assays indicated that inhibited transcription

SUBMITTER: Nie M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9430516 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature