Mechanism of Acquired Immunity in Bacteria

细菌通过获得对噬菌体和质粒的免疫力来预防病毒感染。这项研究集中在阐明这种细菌免疫系统的三个关键方面：1)病毒DNA序列是如何被整合到宿主基因组中的；2)这些基因组插入是如何被用来产生小的反义RNA的；以及3)外源基因是如何被选择性地沉默或破坏的。该项目的长期目标是利用这些洞察力来设计选择性微生物基因敲除的获得性免疫。该项目有可能改变我们对细菌中基因调控的理解方式，并揭示一种以前未知和未曾预料的抗病毒防御机制的分子基础。杜德纳实验室有一段成功的历史，培训各级学生使用各种实验方法创造性地剖析涉及RNA和RNA-蛋白质复合体的分子机制。该项目是在加州大学伯克利分校高度协作的环境中进行的，该校已成为CRISPR研究的事实上的中心，包括吉尔·班菲尔德、菲尔·胡根霍尔茨和亚当·阿金的实验室正在进行的工作。班菲尔德实验室的季度联合小组会议由从事CRISPR相关项目的所有学生参加并授课，作为接受外部投入的一种手段。在加州大学伯克利分校举行的CRISPR年度会议吸引了来自世界各地的科学家分享他们的最新成果。学生们出席并在会上展示了他们的工作，为学习和讨论新成果提供了一个绝佳的机会。

Bacteria guard against viral infection by acquiring immunity to bacteriophage and plasmids. This research focuses on elucidating three critical aspects of this bacterial immune system: 1) how viral DNA sequences are incorporated into the host genome; 2) how these genomic inserts are used to produce small anti-sense RNAs; and 3) how foreign genetic elements are selectively silenced or destroyed. The longer-term goal of the project is to use these insights to engineer acquired immunity for selective microbial gene knockdown. This project has the potential to transform the way we understand gene regulation in bacteria, and to reveal the molecular basis for a previously unknown and unanticipated mechanism of anti-viral defense. The Doudna laboratory has a successful history of training students at all levels in the creative dissection of molecular mechanisms involving RNA and RNA-protein complexes using a variety of experimental methods. The project is being conducted in a highly collaborative environment at UC Berkeley, which has become a de facto center for CRISPR research encompassing ongoing work in the laboratories of Jill Banfield, Phil Hugenholtz and Adam Arkin. Quarterly joint group meetings with the Banfield lab are attended and given by all students working on CRISPR-related projects as a means of receiving outside input. An annual CRISPR conference at UC Berkeley attracts scientists from around the world to share their latest results. Students attend and present their work at this meeting, providing an outstanding opportunity for learning and discussing new results.