Various mechanisms exist that enable bacteria to resist bacteriophage infection. Resistance strategies include the abortive infection (Abi) systems, which promote cell death and limit phage replication within a bacterial population. A highly effective 2-gene Abi system from the phytopathogen Erwinia carotovora subspecies atroseptica , designated ToxIN, is described. The ToxIN Abi system also functions as a toxin–antitoxin (TA) pair, with ToxN inhibiting bacterial growth and the tandemly repeated ToxI RNA antitoxin counteracting the toxicity. TA modules are currently divided into 2 classes, protein and RNA antisense. We provide evidence that ToxIN defines an entirely new TA class that functions via a novel protein-RNA mechanism, with analogous systems present in diverse bacteria. Despite the debated role of TA systems, we demonstrate that ToxIN provides viral resistance in a range of bacterial genera against multiple phages. This is the first demonstration of a novel mechanistic class of TA systems and of an Abi system functioning in different bacterial genera, both with implications for the dynamics of phage-bacterial interactions.

Variation in prokaryote adaptive immunity: To repel infection by phage and mobile genetic elements, prokaryotes have a form of adaptive immune response and memory invested in clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas). This molecular machinery can recognize and remember foreign nucleic acids by capturing and retaining small nucleotide sequences. On subsequent encounters, the cognate CRISPR-Cas marshals enzymatic defenses to destroy infecting elements that contain the same sequences. Jackson et al. review the molecular mechanisms by which diverse CRISPR-Cas systems adapt and anticipate novel threats and evasive countermeasures from mobile genetic elements. Science , this issue p. eaal5056

In prokaryotes, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) and their associated (Cas) proteins constitute a defence system against bacteriophages and plasmids. CRISPR/Cas systems acquire short spacer sequences from foreign genetic elements and incorporate these into their CRISPR arrays, generating a memory of past invaders. Defence is provided by short non-coding RNAs that guide Cas proteins to cleave complementary nucleic acids. While most spacers are acquired from phages and plasmids, there are examples of spacers that match genes elsewhere in the host bacterial chromosome. In Pectobacterium atrosepticum the type I-F CRISPR/Cas system has acquired a self-complementary spacer that perfectly matches a protospacer target in a horizontally acquired island (HAI2) involved in plant pathogenicity. Given the paucity of experimental data about CRISPR/Cas–mediated chromosomal targeting, we examined this process by developing a tightly controlled system. Chromosomal targeting was highly toxic via targeting of DNA and resulted in growth inhibition and cellular filamentation. The toxic phenotype was avoided by mutations in the cas operon, the CRISPR repeats, the protospacer target, and protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) beside the target. Indeed, the natural self-targeting spacer was non-toxic due to a single nucleotide mutation adjacent to the target in the PAM sequence. Furthermore, we show that chromosomal targeting can result in large-scale genomic alterations, including the remodelling or deletion of entire pre-existing pathogenicity islands. These features can be engineered for the targeted deletion of large regions of bacterial chromosomes. In conclusion, in DNA–targeting CRISPR/Cas systems, chromosomal interference is deleterious by causing DNA damage and providing a strong selective pressure for genome alterations, which may have consequences for bacterial evolution and pathogenicity. Bacteria have evolved mechanisms that provide protection from continual invasion by viruses and other foreign elements. Resistance systems, known as CRISPR/Cas, were recently discovered and equip bacteria and archaea with an “adaptive immune system.” This adaptive immunity provides a highly evolvable sequence-specific small RNA–based memory of past invasions by viruses and foreign genetic elements. There are many cases where these systems appear to target regions within the bacterial host's own genome (a possible autoimmunity), but the evolutionary rationale for this is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas targeting of the host chromosome is highly toxic but that cells survive through mutations that alleviate the immune mechanism. We have used this phenotype to gain insight into how these systems function and show that large changes in the bacterial genome can occur. For example, targeting of a chromosomal pathogenicity island, important for virulence of the potato pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum, resulted in deletion of the island, which constituted ∼2% of the bacterial genome. These results have broad significance for the role of CRISPR/Cas systems and their impact on the evolution of bacterial genomes and virulence. In addition, this study demonstrates their potential as a tool for the targeted deletion of specific regions of bacterial chromosomes.