Structural basis for anti-CRISPR repression mediated by bacterial operon proteins Aca1 and Aca2.

It has been shown that phages have evolved anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins to inhibit host CRISPR-Cas systems. Most acr genes are located upstream of anti-CRISPR-associated (aca) genes, which is instrumental for identifying these acr genes. Thus far, eight Aca families (Aca1-Aca8) have been identified, all proteins of which share low sequence homology and bind to different target DNA sequences.