In vitro integration of CRISPR spacers - Pyrococcus furiosus

CRISPR-Cas immune systems rely on short DNA sequences to act as immunological memories of past invaders like phages. New DNA sequences, called spacers, can be integrated into a CRISPR array to form new memories in a process called adaptation. In this study, we used in vitro assays to characterize sequence cues that direct integration. Cas1 and Cas2 from Pyrococcus furiosus integrated a double stranded DNA segment into a CRISPR array. Sequencing was used to determine where integration occurred within the array; that sequence data is available here.