You work for a biotechnology company that uses Streptomyces strains to produce pharmaceutical products. A phage has infected and killed some of your Streptomyces strains during production, resulting in dramatically decreased yields. To protect the strains from infection you propose to
A) introduce gene transfer agents into the Streptomyces cultures to transfer antibiotic resistance genes into your Streptomyces strains.
B) design and insert CRISPR spacer sequences into the genomes of your strains that are complementary to the genomes of the phages that are infecting the cultures.
C) infect the Streptomyces strains with a helper phage that will help the strains resist infection.
D) transform the Streptomyces strains with plasmids encoding antibody proteins that will protect them from phage infection.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Designing and inserting CRISPR spacer sequences into the genomes of the Streptomyces strains is the best option. This will allow the strains to recognize and destroy the phages based on their complementary DNA sequences, providing a targeted defense against phage infection. Gene transfer agents, helper phages, and antibody protein plasmids may not provide sufficient protection or may have negative consequences on the strains.

You Work for a Biotechnology Company That Uses Streptomyces Strains