Biomaterial Database

Applications of CRISPR-Cas systems in lactic acid bacteria. 2020

Avery Roberts, and Rodolphe Barrangou

Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7624, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.

As a phenotypically and phylogenetically diverse group, lactic acid bacteria are found in a variety of natural environments and occupy important roles in medicine, biotechnology, food and agriculture. The widespread use of lactic acid bacteria across these industries fuels the need for new and functionally diverse strains that may be utilized as starter cultures or probiotics. Originally characterized in lactic acid bacteria, CRISPR-Cas systems and derived molecular machines can be used natively or exogenously to engineer new strains with enhanced functional attributes. Research on CRISPR-Cas biology and its applications has exploded over the past decade with studies spanning from the initial characterization of CRISPR-Cas immunity in Streptococcus thermophilus to the use of CRISPR-Cas for clinical gene therapies. Here, we discuss CRISPR-Cas classification, overview CRISPR biology and mechanism of action, and discuss current and future applications in lactic acid bacteria, opening new avenues for their industrial exploitation and manipulation of microbiomes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007218	Industrial Microbiology	The study, utilization, and manipulation of those microorganisms capable of economically producing desirable substances or changes in substances, and the control of undesirable microorganisms.	Microbiology, Industrial
D056546	Lactobacillales	An order of gram-positive bacteria in the class Bacilli, that have the ability to ferment sugars to lactic acid. They are widespread in nature and commonly used to produce FERMENTED FOODS.	Lactic Acid Bacteria
D064113	CRISPR-Cas Systems	Adaptive antiviral defense mechanisms, in archaea and bacteria, based on DNA repeat arrays called CLUSTERED REGULARLY INTERSPACED SHORT PALINDROMIC REPEATS (CRISPR elements) that function in conjunction with CRISPR-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS (Cas proteins). Several types have been distinguished, including Type I, Type II, and Type III, based on signature motifs of CRISPR-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS.	CRISPR Cas Systems,CRISPR-Cas System,System, CRISPR-Cas,Systems, CRISPR-Cas
D064307	Microbiota	The full collection of microbes (bacteria, fungi, virus, etc.) that naturally exist within a particular biological niche such as an organism, soil, a body of water, etc.	Human Microbiome,Microbiome,Microbiome, Human,Microbial Community,Microbial Community Composition,Microbial Community Structure,Community Composition, Microbial,Community Structure, Microbial,Community, Microbial,Composition, Microbial Community,Human Microbiomes,Microbial Communities,Microbial Community Compositions,Microbial Community Structures,Microbiomes,Microbiotas