Related papers: Dynamics of adaptive immunity against phage in bac…
Bacteria and archaea have evolved an adaptive, heritable immune system that recognizes and protects against viruses or plasmids. This system, known as the CRISPR-Cas system, allows the host to recognize and incorporate short foreign DNA or…
Features of the CRISPR-Cas system, in which bacteria integrate small segments of phage genome (spacers) into their DNA to neutralize future attacks, suggest that its effect is not limited to individual bacteria but may control the fate and…
CRISPR-Cas mediated immunity in bacteria allows bacterial populations to protect themselves against pathogens. However, it also exposes them to the dangers of auto-immunity by developing protection that targets its own genome. Using a…
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) in bacterial and archaeal DNA have recently been shown to be a new type of anti-viral immune system in these organisms. We here study the diversity of spacers in CRISPR…
Some bacteria and archaea possess an immune system, based on the CRISPR-Cas mechanism, that confers adaptive immunity against phage. In such species, individual bacteria maintain a "cassette" of viral DNA elements called spacers as a memory…
CRISPR-Cas is a genetic adaptive immune system unique to prokaryotic cells used to combat phage and plasmid threats. The host cell adapts by incorporating DNA sequences from invading phages or plasmids into its CRISPR locus as spacers.…
Today, the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) region within bacterial and archaeal genomes is known to encode an adaptive immune system. We rely on previous results on the evolution of the CRISPR arrays,…
Some prokaryotes possess CRISPR-Cas systems that provide adaptive immunity to viruses guided by DNA segments called spacers acquired from invading phage. However, the patchy incidence and limited memory breadth of CRISPR-Cas systems suggest…
CRISPR is a newly discovered prokaryotic immune system. Bacteria and archaea with this system incorporate genetic material from invading viruses into their genomes, providing protection against future infection by similar viruses. The…
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), linked with CRISPR associated (CAS) genes, play a profound role in the interactions between phage and their bacterial hosts. It is now well understood that CRISPR-CAS…
Phage therapy is an alternative treatment method for bacterial infections. It has shown particular promise in reducing bacterial load while preventing antibiotic resistance. Here, we develop a mathematical model of a bacterial infection…
Antimicrobial protocols - using substances such as antibiotics or disinfectants - remain the preferred option for preventing the spread of pathogenic bacteria. However, bacteria can develop mechanisms to reduce their antimicrobial…
We estimate the number of spacers in a CRISPR array of a bacterium which maximizes its protection against a viral attack. The optimality follows from a competition between two trends: too few distinct spacers make the bacteria vulnerable to…
Biological organisms have evolved a wide range of immune mechanisms to defend themselves against pathogens. Beyond molecular details, these mechanisms differ in how protection is acquired, processed and passed on to subsequent generations…
The aim of this paper is to study two models for a bacterial population subject to antibiotic treatments. It is known that some bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics. These bacteria are in a state called persistence and each bacterium can…
Population dynamics is constrained by the environment, which needs to obey certain conditions to support population growth. We consider a standard model for the evolution of a single species population density, that includes reproduction,…
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) constitute a multi-functional, constantly evolving immune system in bacteria and archaea cells. A heritable, molecular memory is…
Bacteria and phages have been in an ongoing arms race for billions of years. To resist phages bacteria have evolved numerous defense systems, which nevertheless are still overcome by counter-defense mechanisms of specific phages. These…
As pathogens spread in a population of hosts, immunity is built up and the pool of susceptible individuals is depleted. This generates selective pressure, to which many human RNA viruses, such as influenza virus or SARS-CoV-2, respond with…
Phages use bacterial host resources to replicate, intrinsically linking phage and host survival. To understand phage dynamics, it is essential to understand phage-host ecology. A key step in this ecology is infection of bacterial hosts.…