The invention relates to anti-CRISPR genes and anti-CRISPR proteins, and their uses in various biotechnology applications.

The invention relates to anti-CRISPR genes and anti-CRISPR proteins, and their uses in various biotechnology applications.

The present invention provides methods for the prevention, control, disruption and treatment of bacterial biofilms with lysin, particularly lysin having capability to kill Staphlococcal bacteria, including drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus, particularly the lysin PlySs2. The invention also provides compositions and methods for use in treatment or modulation of bacterial biofilm(s) and biofilm formation.

The present invention provides methods for the prevention, control, disruption and treatment of bacterial biofilms with lysin, particularly lysin having capability to kill Staphlococcal bacteria, including drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus, particularly the lysin PlySs2. The invention also provides compositions and methods for use in treatment or modulation of bacterial biofilm(s) and biofilm formation.

Disclosed here are phage compositions comprising CRISPR-Cas systems and methods of use thereof. In certain embodiments, disclosed herein is a bacteriophage comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Type I CRISPR-Cas system comprising: (a) a CRISPR array; (b) a Cascade polypeptide; and (c) a Cas3 polypeptide. In some embodiments, the CRISPR array comprises a spacer sequence and at least one repeat sequence. In some embodiments, the at least one repeat sequence is operably linked to the spacer sequence at either its 5′ end or its 3′ end.

Described herein are compositions and methods for treating a subject having or at risk of developing Crohn's disease. Using the compositions and methods of the disclosure, a patient, such as an adult human patient, may be provided one or more agents that elevate the expression and/or activity levels of Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2). Exemplary agents that may be used in conjunction with the compositions and methods of the disclosure for this purpose include cells, such as pluripotent cells, that express NOD2.

The disclosure provides a population of polypeptide variants based on a common scaffold, each polypeptide in the population comprising the scaffold amino acid sequence X.sub.sc1AELDX.sub.sc2X.sub.sc3GVG AXXIKXIX.sub.sc4XA XXVEXVQXXK QXILAX. The disclosure also provides methods for selecting and identifying polypeptides from the population, as well as such polypeptides themselves.

Peptides related to certain portions of the arginine deiminase enzyme from the bacterium Streptococcus cristatus are provided that disrupt the formation and composition of biofilms containing the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis, and also modulate the virulence of P. gingivalis. Pharmaceutical compositions containing such peptides and method of using the same are disclosed.

Peptides related to certain portions of the arginine deiminase enzyme from the bacterium Streptococcus cristatus are provided that disrupt the formation and composition of biofilms containing the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis, and also modulate the virulence of P. gingivalis. Pharmaceutical compositions containing such peptides and method of using the same are disclosed.

Some aspects of this disclosure provide compositions, methods, and kits for improving the specificity of RNA-programmable endonucleases, such as Cas9. Also provided are variants of Cas9, e.g., Cas9 dimers and fusion proteins, engineered to have improved specificity for cleaving nucleic acid targets. Also provided are compositions, methods, and kits for site-specific nucleic acid modification using Cas9 fusion proteins (e.g., nuclease-inactivated Cas9 fused to a nuclease catalytic domain or a recombinase catalytic domain). Such Cas9 variants are useful in clinical and research settings involving site-specific modification of DNA, for example, genomic modifications.