ArticlePLoS computational biology2017
Optimal number of spacers in CRISPR arrays.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed.
- Hawaiian geothermal fumaroles contain diverse and novel viruses.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Hawaiian Geothermal Fumaroles Contain Diverse and Novel Viruses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Molecular kinetics dictate population dynamics in CRISPR-based plasmid defense.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Identification and comparative genomic analysis of prophage sequences and CRISPR‒Cas immunity in Methylococcus genomes: insights into industrial methane bioconversion.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2026Article
- The complexity of multiple CRISPR arrays in strains with (co-occurring) CRISPR systems.microLife · 2026Article
- Bacteriophages inMicrobial genomics · 2025Article
- Short-term virus-host interactions and functional dynamics in recently deglaciated Antarctic tundra soils.ISME communications · 2025Article
- Ecological drivers of CRISPR immune systems.mSystems · 2024Article
- SpacerPlacer: ancestral reconstruction of CRISPR arrays reveals the evolutionary dynamics of spacer deletions.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- Insights into the inhibition of protospacer integration via direct interaction between Cas2 and AcrVA5.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Cbp1 and Cren7 form chromatin-like structures that ensure efficient transcription of long CRISPR arrays.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Assessing spacer acquisition rates inFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Widespread CRISPR-derived RNA regulatory elements in CRISPR-Cas systems.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- Widespread CRISPR repeat-like RNA regulatory elements in CRISPR-Cas systems.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Article
- Genome-centric view of the microbiome in a new deep-sea glass sponge speciesFrontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Phage Encounters Recorded in CRISPR Arrays in the GenusViruses · 2022Article
- The coordination of anti-phage immunity mechanisms in bacterial cells.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Single cell variability of CRISPR-Cas interference and adaptation.Molecular systems biology · 2022Article
- Spacer prioritization in CRISPR-Cas9 immunity is enabled by the leader RNA.Nature microbiology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Prokaryotic organisms survive under constant pressure of viruses. CRISPR-Cas system provides its prokaryotic host with an adaptive immune defense against viruses that have been previously encountered. It consists of two components: Cas-proteins that cleave the foreign DNA and CRISPR array that suits as a virus recognition key. CRISPR array consists of a series of spacers, short pieces of DNA that originate from and match the corresponding parts of viral DNA called protospacers. Here we estimate the number of spacers in a CRISPR array of a prokaryotic cell which maximizes its protection against a viral attack. The optimality follows from a competition between two trends: too few distinct spacers make host vulnerable to an attack by a virus with mutated corresponding protospacers, while an excessive variety of spacers dilutes the number of the CRISPR complexes armed with the most recent and thus most useful spacers. We first evaluate the optimal number of spacers in a simple scenario of an infection by a single viral species and later consider a more general case of multiple viral species. We find that depending on such parameters as the concentration of CRISPR-Cas interference complexes and its preference to arm with more recently acquired spacers, the rate of viral mutation, and the number of viral species, the predicted optimal number of spacers lies within a range that agrees with experimentally-observed values.
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