Altering microbial populations & modifying microbiota

Abstract

The invention relates to methods, uses, systems, arrays, engineered nucleotide sequences and vectors for inhibiting bacterial population growth or for altering the relative ratio of sub-populations of first and second bacteria in a mixed population of bacteria. The invention is particularly useful, for example, for treatment of microbes such as for environmental, medical, food and beverage use. The invention relates inter alia to methods of controlling microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) or biofouling of a substrate or fluid in an industrial or domestic system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An engineered CRISPR nucleic acid vector comprising a transposon, wherein the vector comprises a CRISPR array for modifying a target sequence of a genome of a host cell or a genome of a virus in a host cell,
 (a) wherein the CRISPR array comprises one or more sequences for expression of a crRNA;   (b) wherein the crRNA is capable of hybridizing to the target sequence to guide a Cas in the host cell to modify the target sequence;   and   (d) wherein the vector does not comprise a Cas nuclease-encoding sequence operable with the array.   
     
     
         2 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the transposon is a Type I transposon or a Type II transposon. 
     
     
         3 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the Cas in the host cell is a Type I Cas. 
     
     
         4 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the Cas in the host cell is a dead Cas9 
     
     
         5 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the vector is a plasmid, phage or phagemid. 
     
     
         6 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the vector comprises an oriT. 
     
     
         7 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the modifying is adding, deleting or substituting a nucleic acid sequence at the target sequence. 
     
     
         8 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the vector is capable of transfer between first and second host cells, wherein the target sequence is comprised by the first and/or second host cell. 
     
     
         9 . The vector of  claim 1 , wherein the transposon comprises an engineered sequence. 
     
     
         10 . A method of modifying a target nucleotide sequence in a host bacterial cell, the method comprising transforming the host bacterial cell with the engineered CRISPR nucleic acid vector of  claim 1 .