DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex assembly by anti-CRISPR AcrIIC2

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada)
  2. Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Beijing (China); Univ. of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China)
  3. Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Beijing (China); Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China)
  4. Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Beijing (China)
  5. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  6. Univ. of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA (United States)
  7. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems function to protect bacteria from invasion by foreign genetic elements. The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been widely adopted as a powerful genome-editing tool, and phage-encoded inhibitors, known as anti-CRISPRs, offer a means of regulating its activity. Here, we report the crystal structures of anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIC2Nme alone and in complex with Nme1Cas9. We demonstrate that AcrIIC2Nme inhibits Cas9 through interactions with the positively charged bridge helix, thereby preventing sgRNA loading. In vivo phage plaque assays and in vitro DNA cleavage assays show that AcrIIC2Nme mediates its activity through a large electronegative surface. This work shows that anti-CRISPR activity can be mediated through the inhibition of Cas9 complex assembly.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; National Institutes of Health (NIH); Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; RGPIN-2018-06546; GM125797; 2017YFA0504203; 31725008; 31630015; 31571335; 31700662; QYZDY-SSW-SMC021
OSTI ID:
1603516
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 41 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (60)

Structures of a CRISPR-Cas9 R-loop complex primed for DNA cleavage journal January 2016
Disabling a Type I-E CRISPR-Cas Nuclease with a Bacteriophage-Encoded Anti-CRISPR Protein journal December 2017
Structures of Cas9 Endonucleases Reveal RNA-Mediated Conformational Activation journal February 2014
An anti-CRISPR from a virulent streptococcal phage inhibits Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 journal August 2017
Bacteriophage genes that inactivate the CRISPR/Cas bacterial immune system journal December 2012
Structure Reveals Mechanisms of Viral Suppressors that Intercept a CRISPR RNA-Guided Surveillance Complex journal March 2017
Crystal Structure of Cas9 in Complex with Guide RNA and Target DNA journal February 2014
A Programmable Dual-RNA-Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity journal June 2012
Dali server: conservation mapping in 3D journal May 2010
Systematic discovery of natural CRISPR-Cas12a inhibitors journal September 2018
Crystal Structure of Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 journal August 2015
A New Group of Phage Anti-CRISPR Genes Inhibits the Type I-E CRISPR-Cas System of Pseudomonas aeruginosa journal April 2014
Inactivation of CRISPR-Cas systems by anti-CRISPR proteins in diverse bacterial species journal June 2016
Naturally Occurring Off-Switches for CRISPR-Cas9 journal December 2016
Multiple mechanisms for CRISPR–Cas inhibition by anti-CRISPR proteins journal September 2015
T7 Vectors with a Modified T7lacPromoter for Expression of Proteins inEscherichia coli journal May 1996
A Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor of CRISPR-Cas9 journal September 2017
Anti-CRISPR proteins encoded by archaeal lytic viruses inhibit subtype I-D immunity journal March 2018
Small CRISPR RNAs Guide Antiviral Defense in Prokaryotes journal August 2008
Diverse Mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas9 Inhibition by Type IIC Anti-CRISPR Proteins journal April 2019
Cas9 function and host genome sampling in Type II-A CRISPR–Cas adaptation journal February 2015
Structural basis of CRISPR–SpyCas9 inhibition by an anti-CRISPR protein journal April 2017
Annotation and Classification of CRISPR-Cas Systems book January 2015
Diversity, classification and evolution of CRISPR-Cas systems journal June 2017
Phage-Encoded Anti-CRISPR Defenses journal November 2018
Bacteriophage Cooperation Suppresses CRISPR-Cas3 and Cas9 Immunity journal August 2018
Cryo-EM Structures Reveal Mechanism and Inhibition of DNA Targeting by a CRISPR-Cas Surveillance Complex journal October 2017
Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9 with Bacteriophage Proteins journal January 2017
Discovery of widespread type I and type V CRISPR-Cas inhibitors journal September 2018
Structural basis of Cas3 inhibition by the bacteriophage protein AcrF3 journal July 2016
A Cas9-guide RNA complex preorganized for target DNA recognition journal June 2015
CRISPR Provides Acquired Resistance Against Viruses in Prokaryotes journal March 2007
RNA-Independent DNA Cleavage Activities of Cas9 and Cas12a journal December 2017
Cas9 specifies functional viral targets during CRISPR–Cas adaptation journal February 2015
Widespread anti-CRISPR proteins in virulent bacteriophages inhibit a range of Cas9 proteins journal July 2018
CRISPR Interference Limits Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococci by Targeting DNA journal December 2008
Anti-CRISPR Phages Cooperate to Overcome CRISPR-Cas Immunity journal August 2018
Alternate binding modes of anti-CRISPR viral suppressors AcrF1/2 to Csy surveillance complex revealed by cryo-EM structures journal June 2017
Structures of Cas9 endonucleases reveal RNA-mediated conformational activation text January 2014
T7 Vectors with a Modified T7lacPromoter for Expression of Proteins inEscherichia coli journal May 1996
Annotation and Classification of CRISPR-Cas Systems book January 2015
Naturally Occurring Off-Switches for CRISPR-Cas9 journal December 2016
Structure Reveals Mechanisms of Viral Suppressors that Intercept a CRISPR RNA-Guided Surveillance Complex journal March 2017
Cryo-EM Structures Reveal Mechanism and Inhibition of DNA Targeting by a CRISPR-Cas Surveillance Complex journal October 2017
Anti-CRISPR Phages Cooperate to Overcome CRISPR-Cas Immunity journal August 2018
Bacteriophage Cooperation Suppresses CRISPR-Cas3 and Cas9 Immunity journal August 2018
Alternate binding modes of anti-CRISPR viral suppressors AcrF1/2 to Csy surveillance complex revealed by cryo-EM structures journal June 2017
Cas9 specifies functional viral targets during CRISPR–Cas adaptation journal February 2015
Multiple mechanisms for CRISPR–Cas inhibition by anti-CRISPR proteins journal September 2015
Structural basis of CRISPR–SpyCas9 inhibition by an anti-CRISPR protein journal April 2017
Structural basis of Cas3 inhibition by the bacteriophage protein AcrF3 journal July 2016
Widespread anti-CRISPR proteins in virulent bacteriophages inhibit a range of Cas9 proteins journal July 2018
Anti-CRISPR proteins encoded by archaeal lytic viruses inhibit subtype I-D immunity journal March 2018
Dali server: conservation mapping in 3D journal May 2010
Guide RNA engineering for versatile Cas9 functionality journal October 2016
CRISPR Interference Limits Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococci by Targeting DNA journal December 2008
Structures of Cas9 Endonucleases Reveal RNA-Mediated Conformational Activation journal February 2014
Systematic discovery of natural CRISPR-Cas12a inhibitors journal September 2018
Discovery of widespread type I and type V CRISPR-Cas inhibitors journal September 2018
Phage-Encoded Anti-CRISPR Defenses journal November 2018

Cited By (3)

Anti‐CRISPR proteins targeting the CRISPR‐Cas system enrich the toolkit for genetic engineering journal November 2019
Exploitation of the Cooperative Behaviors of Anti-CRISPR Phages journal February 2020
CRISPR-Cas Systems and the Paradox of Self-Targeting Spacers journal January 2020