CRISPR-mediated DNA cleavage by the CSM complex

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The CRISPR system is a recently discovered antiviral defence system present in many microbes. CRISPR proteins use small RNA's to detect and destroy invading viruses with similar sequences. CRISPR functions as a adaptive immune system in microbes, analogous to the human immune system. The machinery used to seek out and destroy invaders can be classified into three major types, I, II and III. CRISPR type II has been used very successfully to target specific genes for genome engineering applications in many different organisms and shows great biotechnological and medical potential. The type III system is much less well understood but could provide an alternative technology to pursue the same applied aims. We have recently published the first detailed description of a CSM (type IIIA) CRISPR complex and we now wish to pursue a detailed understanding of the mechanism by which this complex binds RNA and target DNA species, how degradation of target DNA happens and to understand how the structure of the complex relates to its functions. The findings will be of fundamental scientific interest and may also allow the development of new technologies for specific gene targeting.