Phages probably picked up DNA-cutting systems from microbial hosts, and might use them to fight other viruses.
Phages might use CRISPR–Cas systems to compete with one another — or to manipulate gene activity in their hosts.A systematic sweep of viral genomes has revealed a trove of potential CRISPR-based genome-editing tools.
CRISPR–Cas systems are common in the microbial world of bacteria and archaea, where they often help cells to fend off viruses. But an analysisfinds CRISPR–Cas systems in 0.4% of publicly available genome sequences from viruses that can infect these microbes. Researchers think that the viruses use CRISPR–Cas to compete with one another — and potentially also to manipulate gene activity in their host to their advantage.
Some of these viral systems were capable of editing plant and mammalian genomes, and possess features — such as a compact structure and efficient editing — that could make them useful in the laboratory. “This is a significant step forward in the discovery of the enormous diversity of CRISPR–Cas systems,” says computational biologist Kira Makarova at the US National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland. “There is a lot of novelty discovered here.”. About 40% of sampled bacteria and 85% of sampled archaea have CRISPR–Cas systems.
The team found a wide range of variations on the usual CRISPR–Cas structure, with some systems missing components and others unusually compact. “Even if phage-encoded CRISPR–Cas systems are rare, they are highly diverse and widely distributed,” says Anne Chevallereau, who studies phage ecology and evolution at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. “Nature is full of surprises.”Viral genomes tend to be compact, and some of the viral Cas enzymes were remarkably small.
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