Potential role of a CRISPR-Cas-activated toxin-antitoxin system in bacterial immunity (opens in new tab)

CRISPR-Cas and toxin-antitoxin systems can serve as antiviral defense mechanisms in prokaryotes. In typical toxin-antitoxin systems, toxin activation can limit phage propagation by inducing growth arrest or reduced cellular fitness, while the antitoxin neutralizes toxin activity. Here, we study potential functional synergy between a CRISPR-Cas13a system and a type II toxin-antitoxin module (HicAB) from a Leptotrichia bacterium, when heterologously expressed in E. coli, as well as in biochemic...