Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Oct 1;526(7571):55-61.
doi: 10.1038/nature15386.

CRISPR-Cas immunity in prokaryotes

Luciano A Marraffini  1
Affiliations
Review

CRISPR-Cas immunity in prokaryotes

Luciano A Marraffini. Nature. .

Abstract

Prokaryotic organisms are threatened by a large array of viruses and have developed numerous defence strategies. Among these, only clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas systems provide adaptive immunity against foreign elements. Upon viral injection, a small sequence of the viral genome, known as a spacer, is integrated into the CRISPR locus to immunize the host cell. Spacers are transcribed into small RNA guides that direct the cleavage of the viral DNA by Cas nucleases. Immunization through spacer acquisition enables a unique form of evolution whereby a population not only rapidly acquires resistance to its predators but also passes this resistance mechanism vertically to its progeny.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2010 May;8(5):317-27 - PubMed
    1. J Mol Biol. 2012 Oct 12;423(1):14-6 - PubMed
    1. Nat Biotechnol. 2014 Nov;32(11):1146-50 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1989 Aug 10;340(6233):467-8 - PubMed
    1. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35888 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances