The CRISPR system has evolved as a mechanism to protect bacteria from viruses.
In laboratory tests, bacteriophagesdelivered genes to E. coli bacteria that made it glow and controlled the bacteria's resistance to antibiotics. The researchers also demonstrated the ability of viruses to deliver a cytosine base editor to bacterial cells.
This tool does not break the DNA strand like Cas9, but only changes one letter in the DNA sequence. Such a system makes it possible to make point changes, turning off individual bacterial genes, without violating the integrity of the rest of the genome.
We used the base editor as a sort ofprogrammable switch for E. coli genes. With such a system, we can make highly precise single-letter changes to the genome without breaking the DNA.
Matthew Netheri, lead author of the study
The geneticists also tested the CRISPR-Cas system in a simulated natural environmentsynthetic soil made of sand and quartz, liquid, and three different types of bacteria, including E. coli.
The study showed that bacteriophages caneffectively find their prey, infecting up to a quarter of the population of all bacteria. This means that the proposed concept can be used for mass gene editing in complex natural communities, the scientists say.
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