Centre for New Antibacterial Strategies (CANS) seminar

CRISPR interference for functional studies of genes in Staphylococcus aureus

by

Morten Kjos
Fakultet for kjemi, bioteknologi og matvitenskap, NMBU

Thursday December 5th 
14:15 – 15:00, MH Aud 1

Genome-wide screens in the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus have led to the discovery of hundreds of genes which are essential for survival and growth of this bacterium in different conditions. Many of these essential genes have unknown functions. Kjos and his group study the molecular mechanisms underlying cell division and biofilm formation in S. aureus, and they are thus interested to unravel the functions of yet-unknown genes involved in these processes. Since functional studies of essential genes is often difficult by conventional methods, Kjos and his group have developed a CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system for S. aureus. CRISPRi is based on the CRISPR/Cas9 system, but instead of making alterations in the genome, this system allows titratable downregulation of gene expression. Kjos will explain the setup of our staphylococcal CRISPRi system and show how they use the CRISPRi system in different genetic screens and to identify the function of unknown genes involved in staphylococcal cell division