Specialized Weaponry: How a Type III-A CRISPR-Cas System Excels at Combating Phages

Publication date: 13 September 2017
Source:Cell Host & Microbe, Volume 22, Issue 3
Author(s): Ole Niewoehner, Martin Jinek
CRISPR-Cas-mediated defense against phage invaders usually requires recognition of short sequences, termed protospacer-adjacent motifs (PAMs), in phage DNA. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Pyenson et al. (2017) show that the lack of a PAM requirement in some CRISPR-Cas systems prevents interference evasion and facilitates phage extinction.

Teaser

CRISPR-Cas-mediated defense against phage invaders usually requires recognition of short sequences, termed protospacer-adjacent motifs (PAMs), in phage DNA. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Pyenson et al. (2017) show that the lack of a PAM requirement in some CRISPR-Cas systems prevents interference evasion and facilitates phage extinction.


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