title: Diverse evolutionary roots and mechanistic variations of the CRISPR-Cas systems.
abstract: Adaptive immunity had been long thought of as an exclusive feature of animals. However, the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas defense system, present in almost half of prokaryotic genomes, proves otherwise. Because of the everlasting parasite-host arms race, CRISPR-Cas has rapidly evolved through horizontal transfer of complete loci or individual modules, resulting in extreme structural and functional diversity. CRISPR-Cas systems are divided into two distinct classes that each consist of three types and multiple subtypes. We discuss recent advances in CRISPR-Cas research that reveal elaborate molecular mechanisms and provide for a plausible scenario of CRISPR-Cas evolution. We also briefly describe the latest developments of a wide range of CRISPR-based applications.
authors: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, 6703 HB Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors: Prarthana
authors: P
authors: Mohanraju
authors: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
authors: Kira S
authors: KS
authors: Makarova
authors: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors: Bernd
authors: B
authors: Zetsche
authors: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Zhang
authors: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
authors: Eugene V
authors: EV
authors: Koonin
authors: Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, 6703 HB Wageningen, Netherlands. john.vanderoost@wur.nl.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: van der Oost
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000235:genetics*; D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D064130:CRISPR-Associated Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003461:Crystallography; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016679:Genome, Viral; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000276:immunology*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D000094704:RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064130:CRISPR-Associated Proteins; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012322:RNA Precursors; D000094704:RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems