Major bacterial lineages are essentially devoid of CRISPR-Cas viral defence systems

David Burstein, Christine L. Sun, Christopher T. Brown, Itai Sharon, Karthik Anantharaman, Alexander J. Probst, Brian C. Thomas and Jillian F. Banfield ()
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David Burstein: University of California, Berkeley
Christine L. Sun: University of California, Berkeley
Christopher T. Brown: University of California, Berkeley
Itai Sharon: University of California, Berkeley
Karthik Anantharaman: University of California, Berkeley
Alexander J. Probst: University of California, Berkeley
Brian C. Thomas: University of California, Berkeley
Jillian F. Banfield: University of California, Berkeley

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Current understanding of microorganism–virus interactions, which shape the evolution and functioning of Earth’s ecosystems, is based primarily on cultivated organisms. Here we investigate thousands of viral and microbial genomes recovered using a cultivation-independent approach to study the frequency, variety and taxonomic distribution of viral defence mechanisms. CRISPR-Cas systems that confer microorganisms with immunity to viruses are present in only 10% of 1,724 sampled microorganisms, compared with previous reports of 40% occurrence in bacteria and 81% in archaea. We attribute this large difference to the lack of CRISPR-Cas systems across major bacterial lineages that have no cultivated representatives. We correlate absence of CRISPR-Cas with lack of nucleotide biosynthesis capacity and a symbiotic lifestyle. Restriction systems are well represented in these lineages and might provide both non-specific viral defence and access to nucleotides.

Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms10613

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10613

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