Prokaryote autoimmunity in the context of self-targeting by CRISPR-Cas systems [journal]

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Journal

Journal of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology - October 19, 2020

Authors

Tatiana Lenskaia (BICB Ph.D. student), Daniel Boley (professor)

Abstract

Prokaryote adaptive immunity (CRISPR-Cas systems) can be first a threat to its carriers. We analyze risks of autoimmune reactions in prokaryotes by computational methods. We found important differences between Bacteria and Archaea with respect to manifestations of autoimmunity. According to the results of our analysis, CRISPR-Cas systems in Bacteria are more prone to selftargeting even though they possess several times less spaces per organism on average than Archaea. The results of our study provide opportunities to use self-targeting in prokaryote for biological and medical applications, eg, for treatment of bacterial infections.

Link to full paper

Prokaryote autoimmunity in the context of self-targeting by CRISPR-Cas systems

Keywords

computational biology, bioinformatics