Structural analysis of CRISPR/Cas assemblies

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Elena Conti
• Subject Area: Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms ; Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192503913

This project aims at the structural characterization of the CRISPR system. In the first three years, we will concentrate on the Cmr proteins from Pyrococcus furiosus, on the biochemical reconstitution of the corresponding RNA-bound complexes and the structural analysis thereof. Pyrococcus furiosus is a convenient model system for our structural studies, because of published biochemical information on this protein-RNA complex and because orthologous proteins are present in three of the organisms studied by members of the consortium. Thus, hypotheses based on the computational and structural analysis of the P. furiosus proteins can be extrapolated and tested in Sulfolobus solfataricus, Methanosarcina mazei and Synechocystis. In the course of these three years, we also plan to start reconstituting a Cas archaeal complex. This work will proceed on the side to the Cmr structural analysis, and will form the basis of what we envisage as the second stage of the project, namely the structural characterization of Cas complexes.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 1680: Unravelling the Prokaryotic Immune System