Duan Cheng, Cao Huiluo, Zhang Lian-Hui, Xu Zeling
Integrative Microbiology Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Microbiol. 2021 Aug 20;12:716064. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.716064. eCollection 2021.
The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria has become one of the most serious threats to global health, necessitating the development of novel antimicrobial strategies. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) system, known as a bacterial adaptive immune system, can be repurposed to selectively target and destruct bacterial genomes other than invasive genetic elements. Thus, the CRISPR-Cas system offers an attractive option for the development of the next-generation antimicrobials to combat infectious diseases especially those caused by AMR pathogens. However, the application of CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials remains at a very preliminary stage and numerous obstacles await to be solved. In this mini-review, we summarize the development of using type I, type II, and type VI CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials to eradicate AMR pathogens and plasmids in the past a few years. We also discuss the most common challenges in applying CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials and potential solutions to overcome them.
抗菌耐药（AMR）细菌的出现已成为对全球健康最严重的威胁之一，因此需要开发新的抗菌策略。CRISPR（成簇规律间隔短回文重复序列）-Cas（CRISPR相关）系统，作为一种细菌适应性免疫系统，可以被重新利用，以选择性地靶向和破坏除入侵遗传元件之外的细菌基因组。因此，CRISPR-Cas系统为开发下一代抗微生物药物以对抗传染病，尤其是由AMR病原体引起的传染病提供了一个有吸引力的选择。然而，CRISPR-Cas抗菌药物的应用仍处于非常初步的阶段，还有许多障碍有待解决。在本综述中，我们总结了过去几年使用I型、II型和VI型CRISPR-Cas抗菌药物根除AMR病原体和质粒的进展。我们还讨论了应用CRISPR-Cas抗菌药物时最常见的挑战以及克服这些挑战的潜在解决方案。
