Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, 6703 HB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 679-5148 Hyogo, Japan.
Mol Cell. 2013 Oct 10;52(1):135-145. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.09.013.
The CRISPR-Cas system is a prokaryotic host defense system against genetic elements. The Type III-B CRISPR-Cas system of the bacterium Thermus thermophilus, the TtCmr complex, is composed of six different protein subunits (Cmr1-6) and one crRNA with a stoichiometry of Cmr112131445361:crRNA1. The TtCmr complex copurifies with crRNA species of 40 and 46 nt, originating from a distinct subset of CRISPR loci and spacers. The TtCmr complex cleaves the target RNA at multiple sites with 6 nt intervals via a 5' ruler mechanism. Electron microscopy revealed that the structure of TtCmr resembles a "sea worm" and is composed of a Cmr2-3 heterodimer "tail," a helical backbone of Cmr4 subunits capped by Cmr5 subunits, and a curled "head" containing Cmr1 and Cmr6. Despite having a backbone of only four Cmr4 subunits and being both longer and narrower, the overall architecture of TtCmr resembles that of Type I Cascade complexes.
CRISPR-Cas 系统是原核生物抵御遗传元件的宿主防御系统。嗜热栖热菌的 III-B 型 CRISPR-Cas 系统,即 TtCmr 复合物,由六个不同的蛋白亚基(Cmr1-6)和一个 crRNA 组成,其摩尔比为 Cmr112131445361:crRNA1。TtCmr 复合物与 40 和 46 nt 的 crRNA 种类共同纯化,这些 crRNA 来源于不同的 CRISPR 基因座和间隔区。TtCmr 复合物通过 5' 规则机制在多个位置以 6 个核苷酸的间隔切割靶 RNA。电子显微镜显示,TtCmr 的结构类似于“海虫”,由 Cmr2-3 异二聚体“尾巴”、Cmr4 亚基的螺旋骨架以及包含 Cmr1 和 Cmr6 的卷曲“头部”组成。尽管只有四个 Cmr4 亚基组成的骨架,且更长更窄,TtCmr 的整体结构类似于 I 型 Casade 复合物。