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PubMed · 39631148

The promise of CRISPR-associated transposons for bacterial functional genomics.

Amy B Banta·Rodrigo A Cuellar·Nischala Nadig·Bryce C Davis·Jason M Peters
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Abstract

CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) are naturally occurring amalgamations of CRISPR-Cas machinery and Tn7-like transposons that direct site-specific integration of transposon DNA via programmable guide RNAs. Although the mechanisms of CAST-based transposition have been well studied at the molecular and structural level, CASTs have yet to be broadly applied to bacterial genome engineering and systematic gene phenotyping (i.e. functional genomics) - likely due to their relatively recent discovery. Here, we describe the function and applications of CASTs, focusing on well-characterized systems, including the type I-F CAST from Vibrio cholerae (VcCAST) and type V-K CAST from Scytonema hofmanni (ShCAST). Further, we discuss the potentially transformative impact of targeted transposition on bacterial functional genomics by proposing genome-scale extensions of existing CAST tools.

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DNA Transposable ElementsGenomicsCRISPR-Cas SystemsGenome, BacterialVibrio choleraeBacteriaClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic RepeatsJournal ArticleReview

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Amy B Banta, Rodrigo A Cuellar, Nischala Nadig, Bryce C Davis, Jason M Peters. 2024-12-03. The promise of CRISPR-associated transposons for bacterial functional genomics.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2024.102563

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