Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology

CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immune system which provides protection from invasive mobile genetic elements in prokaryotes. CRISPR-Cas immunity starts with acquisition: this involves the capture of DNA fragments called ‘prespacers’, which are then processed to become ‘protospacers’ and integrated into t...

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Main Author: Reeves, Ryan Peter
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/56480/
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author Reeves, Ryan Peter
author_facet Reeves, Ryan Peter
author_sort Reeves, Ryan Peter
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immune system which provides protection from invasive mobile genetic elements in prokaryotes. CRISPR-Cas immunity starts with acquisition: this involves the capture of DNA fragments called ‘prespacers’, which are then processed to become ‘protospacers’ and integrated into the host’s chromosome as ‘spacers’. Acquisition is catalysed by the Cas1-2 complex along with host factors. Although the spacer integration mechanism is well understood, the prespacer capture process remains cryptic. In the E. coli CRISPR I-E system, the products of replication fork collisions have been linked to prespacer capture by Cas1-2. By increasing the frequency of replication-fork collisions using an E. coli strain with an additional ectopic origin of replication, I show that the level of spacer acquisition increases in vivo compared to wild-type; providing evidence that RecBCD-helicase processed fragments from stalled DNA replication forks are captured as prespacers by Cas1-2. Furthermore, I demonstrate that spacer acquisition increases in E. coli under nutritional stress. I also show that N-terminal tags on Cas1 have a detrimental effect on acquisition in vivo, despite successful spacer integration activity in vitro; as well as investigating the role of Cas3 in a cell stress response; and initiating genetic work into the unusual CRISPR-Cas system of Marinitoga piezophila.
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spelling nottingham-564802025-02-28T14:28:45Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/56480/ Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology Reeves, Ryan Peter CRISPR-Cas is an adaptive immune system which provides protection from invasive mobile genetic elements in prokaryotes. CRISPR-Cas immunity starts with acquisition: this involves the capture of DNA fragments called ‘prespacers’, which are then processed to become ‘protospacers’ and integrated into the host’s chromosome as ‘spacers’. Acquisition is catalysed by the Cas1-2 complex along with host factors. Although the spacer integration mechanism is well understood, the prespacer capture process remains cryptic. In the E. coli CRISPR I-E system, the products of replication fork collisions have been linked to prespacer capture by Cas1-2. By increasing the frequency of replication-fork collisions using an E. coli strain with an additional ectopic origin of replication, I show that the level of spacer acquisition increases in vivo compared to wild-type; providing evidence that RecBCD-helicase processed fragments from stalled DNA replication forks are captured as prespacers by Cas1-2. Furthermore, I demonstrate that spacer acquisition increases in E. coli under nutritional stress. I also show that N-terminal tags on Cas1 have a detrimental effect on acquisition in vivo, despite successful spacer integration activity in vitro; as well as investigating the role of Cas3 in a cell stress response; and initiating genetic work into the unusual CRISPR-Cas system of Marinitoga piezophila. 2019-07-19 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/56480/1/Ryan%20Reeves%20MRes%20Thesis%204312537%20Corrected.pdf Reeves, Ryan Peter (2019) Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. CRISPR-Cas immunity; Prespacer capture process; Spacer acquisition; Cell stress response
spellingShingle CRISPR-Cas immunity; Prespacer capture process; Spacer acquisition; Cell stress response
Reeves, Ryan Peter
Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title_full Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title_fullStr Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title_short Analysis of Cas1-2 and Cas3 CRISPR immunity proteins in E. coli cell physiology
title_sort analysis of cas1-2 and cas3 crispr immunity proteins in e. coli cell physiology
topic CRISPR-Cas immunity; Prespacer capture process; Spacer acquisition; Cell stress response
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/56480/