Goodbye PAM: Phage λ's Red recombination system cripples PAMs and helps dodge CRISPR attacks

Cell Host Microbe. 2021 Oct 13;29(10):1469-1471. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2021.09.011.

Abstract

Ever wondered how the phage λ Red recombination system resembles the Red Queen? Hossain et al. (2021) provide an answer in this issue of Cell Host & Microbe. They show that Red debilitates PAM sequences by mutagenic repair of CRISPR-targeted DNA breaks in infecting λ, thus shaping the phage-CRISPR arms race.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophage lambda* / genetics
  • Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats*
  • Recombination, Genetic