The Involvement of Mycobacterium Type III-A CRISPR-Cas System in Oxidative Stress

Type I and type II CRISPR-Cas systems are employed to evade host immunity by targeting interference of bacteria’s own genes. Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M. tuberculosis ), the causative agent of tuberculosis, possesses integrated type III-A CRISPR-Cas system, its role in mycobacteria remains obscure. Here, we observed that seven cas genes ( csm2 ∼ 5 , cas10 , cas6 ) were upregulated in Mycobacterium bovis BCG under oxidative stress treatment, indicating the role of type III-A CRISPR-Cas system in oxidative stress. To explore the functional role of type III-A CRISPR-Cas system, TCC ( T ype III-A C RISPR - C as system, including cas6 , cas10 , and csm2 - 6 ) mutant was generated. Deletion of TCC results in increased sensitivity in response to hydrogen peroxide and reduced cell envelope integrity. Analysis of RNA-seq dataset revealed that TCC impacted on the oxidation-reduction process and the composition of cell wall which is essential for mycobacterial envelop integrity. Moreover, disrupting TCC led to poor intracellular survival in vivo and in vitro . Finally, we showed for the first time that TCC contributed to the regulation of regulatory T cell population, supporting a role of TCC in modulating host immunity. Our finding reveals the important role of TCC in cell envelop homeostasis. Our work also highlights type III-A CRISPR-Cas system as an important factor for intracellular survival and host immunoregulation in mycobacteria, thus may be a potential target for therapy.