Park, A. E. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Groundfish biodiversity change in northeast Pacific waters under projected warming and deoxygenation

In the coming decades, warming and deoxygenation of marine waters are anticipated to result in shifts in the distribution and abundance of fishes, with consequences for the diversity and composition of fish communities. Here, we combine fisheries independent trawl survey data spanning the west coast of the USA and Canada with high resolution regional ocean models to make projections of how 34 groundfish species will be impacted by changes in temperature and oxygen in British Columbia (B.C.) and Washington. In this region, species that are projected to decrease in occurrence are roughly balanced by those that are projected to increase, resulting in considerable compositional turnover. Many, but not all, species are projected to shift to deeper depths as conditions warm, but low oxygen will limit how deep they can go. Thus, biodiversity will likely decrease in the shallowest waters (< 100 m) where warming will be greatest, increase at mid depths (100--600 m) as shallow species shift deeper, and decrease at depths where oxygen is limited (> 600 m). These results highlight the critical importance of accounting for the joint role of temperature, oxygen, and depth when projecting the impacts of climate change on marine biodiversity.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mobile element warfare via CRISPR and anti-CRISPR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Bacteria deploy multiple defense mechanisms to prevent the invasion of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). CRISPR-Cas systems use RNA-guided nucleases to target MGEs, which in turn produce anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins that inactivate Cas protein effectors. The minimal component Type I-C CRISPR-Cas subtype is highly prevalent in bacteria, and yet a lack of a tractable in vivo model system has slowed its study, the identification of cognate Acr proteins, and thus our understanding of its true role in nature. Here, we describe MGE-MGE conflict between a mobile Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type I-C CRISPR-Cas system always encoded on pKLC102-like conjugative elements, which are large mobile islands, and seven new Type I-C anti-CRISPRs (AcrIF2*, AcrIC3-IC8) encoded by phages, other mobile islands, and transposons. The P. aeruginosa Type I-C system possesses a total of 300 non-redundant spacers (from 980 spacers total) across the 42 genomes analyzed, predominantly targeting P. aeruginosa phages. Of the seven new Type I-C anti-CRISPRs, all but one are highly acidic, and four have surprisingly broad inhibition activity, blocking multiple distantly related P. aeruginosa Type I CRISPR system subtypes (e.g. I-C and I-F, or I-C and I-E), including AcrIF2 (now, AcrIF2*), a previously described DNA mimic. Anti-type I-C activity of AcrIF2* was far more sensitive to mutagenesis of acidic residues in AcrIF2* than anti-type I-F activity, suggesting distinct binding mechanisms for this highly negatively charged protein. Five of the seven Acr proteins block DNA-binding, while the other two act downstream of DNA-binding, likely by preventing Cas3 recruitment or activity. For one such Cas3 inhibitor (AcrIC3), we identify a novel anti-CRISPR evasion strategy: a cas3-cas8 gene fusion, which also occurs in nature. Collectively, the Type I-C CRISPR spacer diversity and corresponding anti-CRISPR response, all occurring on Pseudomonas MGEs, demonstrates an active co-evolutionary battle between parasitic elements.

microbiology↗