[SCAN] A novel CRISPR system found in the human pathogen Listeria
José Andrade, Cecilia Arraiano Lab
| When |
10 Feb, 2016
from
12:00 pm to 01:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Where | Auditorium |
| Add event to your calendar |
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SCAN
Title: A novel CRISPR system found in the human pathogen Listeria
Speaker: José Andrade
Affiliation: Cecilia Arraiano Lab
Abstract:
CRISPRs are a class of non-coding RNAs that protect bacteria against invading bacteriophages and plasmids. Typically, CRISPRs associated to Cas proteins are able to target and degrade foreign genetic material. This adaptive immune defence mechanism has now been engineered and constitutes one of the most powerful gene-editing techniques. In particular, the genome manipulation of a wide range of organisms by the CRISPR/Cas9 system has captivated the scientific community. Here, I will discuss CRISPRs biology and present a new CRISPR system that we have found in Listeria monocytogenes. The RliB-CRISPR share many sequences with temperate and virulent phages of Listeria and shows many unique characteristics: has an unusual secondary structure, is ubiquitously present among Listeria genomes at the same genomic locus and is never associated with the cas genes. Moreover, this novel type of CRISPR system requires the exoribonuclease PNPase for its processing and interference activity. The RliB-CRISPR is important for Listeria virulence and this novel RliB-CRISPR/PNPase system may play important functions for the physiology of this pathogen.
