Type III CRISPR complexes from Thermus thermophilus

Pathogen-specific acquired immunity in bacteria is mediated by the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas systems. Thermus thermophilus strain HB8 contains CRISPR systems of several major subtypes (type I, IIIA and IIIB), and has become a widely studied model for CRISPR biology. We have selected two highly expressed CRISPR spacers, crRNA 2.1 and crRNA 2.2, and have enriched endogenous T. thermophilus proteins that co-purify with these crRNAs. Mass spectroscopy indicates that the chromatography protocol enriches predominantly Csm complex subunits, but also Cmr subunits. After several chromatographic steps, size exclusion chromatography indicated a molecular mass of the crRNA associated complex of 265 +/- 69 kDa. In agreement with earlier work, crRNAs of different lengths (containing the selected spacers) were observed. Most of these were completely lost when several T. thermophilus csm genes were ablated.