Compelling cellular reactions of Saccharolobus solfataricus upon deleti on of a type III CRISPR-Cas system

Beschreibung

Saccharolobus solfataricus, a thermoacidophilic member of the Thermoproteia (formerly
Crenarchaeota), was originally isolated from acidic hot springs and grows optimally at a temperature
of 78°C and pH 3. Sharing its natural habitat with many different viruses, S. solfataricus exhibits
extensive CRISPR-Cas (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats - CRISPR
associated proteins) systems, which were previously shown to act as RNA-guided adaptive immune
systems in prokaryotes. While most other CRISPR-Cas systems specifically recognize DNA targets,
type III CRISPR-Cas systems target nascent viral RNA transcripts. S. solfataricus harbors two type III
CRISPR-Cas systems which, based on their interference mechanism, hold the potential to regulate
cellular processes at the post-transcriptional level. There are indeed some indications for additional
cellular roles of these enzymatic complexes apart from virus defense. In this study, we deleted a type III CRISPR-Cas module in S. solfataricus in order to discern its putative functional links to other cellular processes and alternative roles besides immunity. Notably, the knockout mutants grew considerably faster compared to the wildtype strain. Effects of the genomic deletion of the type III interference module on the transcriptional landscape were analyzed using RNAseq. Interestingly, we found a significant upregulation of genes associated with energy production and conversion, including complex I of the respiratory chain, as well as carbohydrate or amino acid transporters.
Generally, a significant accumulation of genes encoding transmembrane proteins in the upregulated proportion of the transcriptome suggests interconnections between the type III CRISPR-Cas system and various membrane-associated processes. Investigations on the underlying mechanisms leading to this phenotype are currently under way.

Zeitraum	19 Sept. 2022
Ereignistitel	13th International Congress on Extremophiles 2022: Extremophiles 2022
Veranstaltungstyp	Konferenz
Ort	Loutraki, GriechenlandAuf Karte anzeigen
Bekanntheitsgrad	International