ArticleNature communications2016
Major bacterial lineages are essentially devoid of CRISPR-Cas viral defence systems.
Article in Nature communications, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 141 papers.
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Who cites it
141 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Viral communities from long-term anaerobic alkane-oxidizing enrichment cultures encode predicted cell surface adhesion functions.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Characterization of CRISPR-Cas systems in the Haemophilus genus CRISPR-Cas in Haemophilus spp.Genetics and molecular biology · 2026Article
- Strain matters: host responses reflect symbiont origin in the squid-vibrio symbiosis.mSystems · 2025Article
- The stress of carrying CRISPR-Cas.Virulence · 2025Article
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- Genetic exchange shapes ultra-small Patescibacteria metabolic capacities in the terrestrial subsurface.mSystems · 2025Article
- The defensome of prokaryotes in aquifers.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Distribution of Genetic Determinants Associated with CRISPR-Cas Systems and Resistance to Antibiotics in the Genomes of Archaea and Bacteria.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Unveiling plasmid diversity and functionality in pristine groundwater.Environmental microbiome · 2025Article
- Antiviral defense systems in the rumen microbiome.mSystems · 2025Article
81 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Current understanding of microorganism-virus interactions, which shape the evolution and functioning of Earth's ecosystems, is based primarily on cultivated organisms. Here we investigate thousands of viral and microbial genomes recovered using a cultivation-independent approach to study the frequency, variety and taxonomic distribution of viral defence mechanisms. CRISPR-Cas systems that confer microorganisms with immunity to viruses are present in only 10% of 1,724 sampled microorganisms, compared with previous reports of 40% occurrence in bacteria and 81% in archaea. We attribute this large difference to the lack of CRISPR-Cas systems across major bacterial lineages that have no cultivated representatives. We correlate absence of CRISPR-Cas with lack of nucleotide biosynthesis capacity and a symbiotic lifestyle. Restriction systems are well represented in these lineages and might provide both non-specific viral defence and access to nucleotides.
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