LrhA promotes CRISPR-Cas immunity by enhancing primed adaptation in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The CRISPR-based defense system protects prokaryotes against foreign genetic elements. Previous studies indicated that the activity of the CRISPR-Cas system is the outcome of the combined effect of adaptation and interference. However, it remains unclear how coordination of the two processes is regulated to optimize the efficacy of adaptive immunity. Here, we identify the LysR-type transcriptional regulator LrhA as a new CRISPR-Cas activator which plays an important role in coordinating adaptation and interference. Through directly binding to the promoter of the cas operon, LrhA enhances the CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity against bacteriophage infection by stimulating the transcription of cas genes. Moderate activation of cas genes by LrhA efficiently promoted the clearance of horizontally transferred CRISPR-targeted plasmid via increasing the acquisition of new spacers by interference-driven adaptation in Escherichia coli. Our results indicate that intermediate level of transcription of cas genes achieved optimal outcomes of the adaptive immunity through triggering positive feedback between adaptation and interference, highlighting the importance of fine-tuning expression of CRISPR-Cas system.