Conjugation Assay for Testing CRISPR-Cas Anti-plasmid Immunity in Staphylococci

Abstract

CRISPR-Cas is a prokaryotic adaptive immune system that prevents uptake of mobile genetic elements such as bacteriophages and plasmids. Plasmid transfer between bacteria is of particular clinical concern due to increasing amounts of antibiotic resistant pathogens found in humans as a result of transfer of resistance plasmids within and between species. Testing the ability of CRISPR-Cas systems to block plasmid transfer in various conditions or with CRISPR-Cas mutants provides key insights into the functionality and mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas as well as how antibiotic resistance spreads within bacterial communities. Here, we describe a method for quantifying the impact of CRISPR-Cas on the efficiency of plasmid transfer by conjugation. While this method is presented in Staphylococcus species, it could be more broadly used for any conjugative prokaryote.