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Evolution of CRISPR RNA recognition and processing by Cas6 endonucleases

Journal Article · · Nucleic Acids Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt922· OSTI ID:1625531
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

In many bacteria and archaea, small RNAs derived from clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) associate with CRISPRassociated (Cas) proteins to target foreign DNA for destruction. In Type I and III CRISPR/Cas systems, the Cas6 family of endoribonucleases generates functional CRISPR-derived RNAs by site-specific cleavage of repeat sequences in precursor transcripts. CRISPR repeats differ widely in both sequence and structure, with varying propensity to form hairpin folds immediately preceding the cleavage site. To investigate the evolution of distinct mechanisms for the recognition of diverse CRISPR repeats by Cas6 enzymes, we determined crystal structures of two Thermus thermophilus Cas6 enzymes both alone and bound to substrate and product RNAs. These structures show how the scaffold common to all Cas6 endonucleases has evolved two binding sites with distinct modes of RNA recognition: one specific for a hairpin fold and the other for a single-stranded 5' -terminal segment preceding the hairpin. These findings explain how divergent Cas6 enzymes have emerged to mediate highly selective pre-CRISPR-derived RNA processing across diverse CRISPR systems.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1625531
Journal Information:
Nucleic Acids Research, Journal Name: Nucleic Acids Research Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 42; ISSN 0305-1048
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (28)

Targeted DNA degradation using a CRISPR device stably carried in the host genome journal May 2015
CRISPR RNA binding and DNA target recognition by purified Cascade complexes from Escherichia coli journal December 2014
Interference activity of a minimal Type I CRISPR–Cas system fromShewanella putrefaciens journal September 2015
Modulating the Cascade architecture of a minimal Type I-F CRISPR-Cas system journal May 2016
Diversified local CRISPR-Cas immunity to viruses of Sulfolobus islandicus journal March 2019
RNA and DNA Targeting by a Reconstituted Thermus thermophilus Type III-A CRISPR-Cas System journal January 2017
Intrinsic sequence specificity of the Cas1 integrase directs new spacer acquisition journal August 2015
Cas6 processes tight and relaxed repeat RNA via multiple mechanisms: A hypothesis journal May 2017
Current and future prospects for CRISPR-based tools in bacteria: CRISPR-Based Tools in Bacteria journal October 2015
Rational design of inducible CRISPR guide RNAs for de novo assembly of transcriptional programs journal March 2017
Genome editing in rice and wheat using the CRISPR/Cas system journal September 2014
Unravelling the structural and mechanistic basis of CRISPR–Cas systems journal June 2014
The role of Cas8 in type I CRISPR interference journal June 2015
Biochemical analysis of the Cas6-1 RNA endonuclease associated with the subtype I-D CRISPR-Cas system in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 journal March 2018
Cross-cleavage activity of Cas6b in crRNA processing of two different CRISPR-Cas systems in Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 journal September 2018
Structural basis of Type IV CRISPR RNA biogenesis by a Cas6 endoribonuclease journal June 2019
Biogenesis pathways of RNA guides in archaeal and bacterial CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity journal May 2015
Insights into RNA-processing pathways and associated RNA-degrading enzymes in Archaea journal April 2018
An archaeal CRISPR type III-B system exhibiting distinctive RNA targeting features and mediating dual RNA and DNA interference journal December 2014
Cas6 specificity and CRISPR RNA loading in a complex CRISPR-Cas system journal April 2014
Mycobacterium tuberculosis type III‐A CRISPR/Cas system crRNA and its maturation have atypical features journal July 2018
PERSIST: A programmable RNA regulation platform using CRISPR endoRNases preprint December 2019
Diverse evolutionary roots and mechanistic variations of the CRISPR-Cas systems journal August 2016
Auxotrophy to Xeno-DNA: an exploration of combinatorial mechanisms for a high-fidelity biosafety system for synthetic biology applications journal August 2018
Auxotrophy to Xeno-DNA: an exploration of combinatorial mechanisms for a high-fidelity biosafety system for synthetic biology applications collection January 2018
CRISPR-Cas: Converting A Bacterial Defence Mechanism into A State-of-the-Art Genetic Manipulation Tool journal February 2019
Structural basis of Type IV CRISPR RNA biogenesis by a Cas6 endoribonuclease text January 2019
Structural basis of Type IV CRISPR RNA biogenesis by a Cas6 endoribonuclease text January 2019

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