BREX system of Escherichia coli distinguishes self from non-self by methylation of a specific DNA site. Issue 1 (12th November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gordeeva, Julia; Morozova, Natalya; Sierro, Nicolas; Isaev, Artem; Sinkunas, Tomas; Tsvetkova, Ksenia; Matlashov, Mikhail; Truncaitė, Lidija; Morgan, Richard D; Ivanov, Nikolai V; Siksnys, Virgis; Zeng, Lanying; Severinov, Konstantin
• Is Part Of: Nucleic acids research. Volume 47:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 253
• Page End: 265
• Publication Date: 2018-11-12
• Subjects: Nucleic acids -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; 572.805
• DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky1125
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-1048

Abstract

Abstract: Prokaryotes evolved numerous systems that defend against predation by bacteriophages. In addition to well-known restriction-modification and CRISPR-Cas immunity systems, many poorly characterized systems exist. One class of such systems, named BREX, consists of a putative phosphatase, a methyltransferase and four other proteins. A Bacillus cereus BREX system provides resistance to several unrelated phages and leads to modification of specific motif in host DNA. Here, we study the action of BREX system from a natural Escherichia coli isolate. We show that while it makes cells resistant to phage λ infection, induction of λ prophage from cells carrying BREX leads to production of viruses that overcome the defense. The induced phage DNA contains a methylated adenine residue in a specific motif. The same modification is found in the genome of BREX-carrying cells. The results establish, for the first time, that immunity to BREX system defense is provided by an epigenetic modification.