SummaryInheritable bacterial defence systems against phage infection and foreign DNA, termed CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), consist of cas protein genes and repeat arrays interspaced with sequences originating from invaders. The Cas proteins together with processed small spacer-repeat transcripts (crRNAs) cause degradation of penetrated foreign DNA by unknown mechanisms. Here, we have characterized previously unidentified promoters of the Escherichia coli CRISPR arrays and cas protein genes. Transcription of precursor crRNA is directed by a promoter located within the CRISPR leader. A second promoter, directing cas gene transcription, is located upstream of the genes encoding proteins of the Cascade complex. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the DNA-binding protein H-NS is involved in silencing the CRISPR-cas promoters, resulting in cryptic Cas protein expression. Our results demonstrate an active involvement of H-NS in the induction of the CRISPRcas system and suggest a potential link between two prokaryotic defence systems against foreign DNA.

The adaptation against foreign nucleic acids by the CRISPR–Cas system (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins) depends on the insertion of foreign nucleic acid-derived sequences into the CRISPR array as novel spacers by still unknown mechanism. We identified and characterized in Escherichia coli intermediate states of spacer integration and mapped the integration site at the chromosomal CRISPR array in vivo. The results show that the insertion of new spacers occurs by site-specific nicking at both strands of the leader proximal repeat in a staggered way and is accompanied by joining of the resulting 5′-ends of the repeat strands with the 3′-ends of the incoming spacer. This concerted cleavage-ligation reaction depends on the metal-binding center of Cas1 protein and requires the presence of Cas2. By acquisition assays using plasmid-located CRISPR array with mutated repeat sequences, we demonstrate that the primary sequence of the first repeat is crucial for cleavage of the CRISPR array and the ligation of new spacer DNA.

The adaptive immunity of bacteria against foreign nucleic acids, mediated by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), relies on the specific incorporation of short pieces of the invading foreign DNA into a special genomic locus, termed CRISPR array. The stored sequences (spacers) are subsequently used in the form of small RNAs (crRNAs) to interfere with the target nucleic acid. We explored the DNA-binding mechanism of the immunization protein Csn2 from the human pathogen Streptococcus agalactiae using different biochemical techniques, atomic force microscopic imaging and molecular dynamics simulations. The results demonstrate that the ring-shaped Csn2 tetramer binds DNA ends through its central hole and slides inward, likely by a screw motion along the helical path of the enclosed DNA. The presented data indicate an accessory function of Csn2 during integration of exogenous DNA by end-joining.

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