tRNA-derived second messengers confer bacterial immunity

Abstract

Bacterial small-molecule messengers that function in diverse immune signaling pathways have been thought to derive strictly from biosynthesis using nucleotide and cofactor substrates. Here we report a nuclease-driven immune signaling pathway in which tRNA cleavage generates a specific small molecule that triggers cell death in response to RNA-guided transcript recognition in prokaryotes. We identify a class of type VI-B CRISPR systems in which the RNA-guided nuclease Cas13 and its accessory transmembrane protein, 2TM{beta}, are co-encoded in an operon and are jointly required for bacteriophage defense. Upon target RNA recognition, Cas13 activates 2TM{beta} by producing mono- and dinucleotide messengers bearing 2',3'-cyclic uridine phosphate ends by tRNA cleavage. Activated 2TM{beta} destroys infected cells by forming a multimeric complex that disrupts cell membranes to mediate cell death. These findings demonstrate RNA-programmed tRNA cleavage for second-messenger biogenesis, revealing a new logic for prokaryotic immune signaling.