SPARDA: Bacteria’s Self-Destruct & Defense System for Biotech
- CRISPR systems have enabled scientists to edit genetic information more easily than ever before.
- A recent study in the journal Cell Research highlights another bacterial defense system, known as SPARDA (short prokaryotic Argonaute, DNase associated), and the advances raise the potential for...
- Zaremba's analysis focused on SPARDA systems from two bacteria chosen at random.
CRISPR kick-started a golden age of genetic research – but in nature, there are hundreds of similar systems with unexplored potential for gene editing. Now, scientists have made huge strides in explaining how an enigmatic system called SPARDA works.
CRISPR systems have enabled scientists to edit genetic information more easily than ever before. Although it’s best known for its use in gene editing, CRISPR is actually an adapted bacterial immune defense system that was repurposed for human use.
Zaremba’s analysis focused on SPARDA systems from two bacteria chosen at random. xanthobacter autotrophicus, a soil microbe, avoids sunlight and creates its own food using nitrogen. Enhydrobacter aerosaccus, originally discovered in michigan’s wintergreen Lake, has internal airbags for buoyancy. Zaremba’s team isolated the SPARDA systems from these bacteria and studied them in E. coli. Analysis revealed a key “activating region” within each argonaute protein, which they termed the beta-relay, due to its resemblance to electrical relay switches. When SPARDA systems detect threats, these switches change shape, allowing the proteins to bind with other activated argonaute proteins. This creates a line-up, forming long, spiraling chains. 