Patent

1. A transformed host cell resistant to a target nucleic acid or a transcription product thereof, the host cell comprising:

a) at least one Lactococcus cas gene encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID Nos 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20;

b) at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats as defined in SEQ ID No: 24, and

c) a spacer flanked by two of the at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats, wherein said spacer is homologous to a target nucleic acid or transcription product thereof, wherein the at least two CRISPR repeats, the spacer and the at least one Lactococcus cas gene form a functional combination that confers resistance to the target nucleic acid

wherein said host cell is selected from the group consisting of a Bifidobacterium species, a Brevibacterium species, a Propionibacterium species, a Lactococcus species, a Streptococcus species, a Lactobacillus species including the Enterococcus species, Pediococcus species, a Leuconostoc species and Oenococcus species, and wherein when the host cell is a Lactococcus species, this host cell is selected from the group consisting of Lactococcus chungangensis , Lactococcus fujiensis , Lactococcus garvieae , Lactococcus lactis subsp. hordniae , Lactococcus lactis subsp. tructae, Lactococcus piscium, Lactococcus plantarum and Lactococcus raffinolactis .

2. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein said target nucleic is the nucleic acid of a phage and said transformed host cell has an increased resistance to the phage as compared to a non-transformed cell.

3. A method for preparing a transformed host cell resistant to a phage comprising:

(a) preparing a nucleic acid or a vector comprising:

1) at least one Lactococcus cas gene encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID Nos: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20;

2) at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats as defined in SEQ ID No: 24, and

3) a spacer flanked by two of the at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats, wherein said spacer is homologous to the target nucleic acid wherein said target nucleic is the nucleic acid of a phage and said transformed host cell has an increased resistance to the phage as compared to a non-transformed cell; and

b) transforming a host cell sensitive to the phage with the nucleic acid or vector of step a),

wherein said host cell is selected from the group consisting of a Bifidobacterium species, a Brevibacterium species, a Propionibacterium species, a Lactococcus species, a Streptococcus species, a Lactobacillus species including the Enterococcus species, Pediococcus species, a Leuconostoc species and Oenococcus species, and wherein when the host cell is a Lactococcus species, this host cell is selected from the group consisting of Lactococcus chungangensis , Lactococcus fujiensis , Lactococcus garvieae , Lactococcus lactis subsp . hordniae , Lactococcus lactis subsp. tructae, Lactococcus piscium, Lactococcus plantarum and Lactococcus raffinolactis .

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the Lactococcus CRISPR spacer sequence is selected from at least one of SEQ ID NOs: 25-60 or a sequence having at least 95% identity to any one of SEQ ID Nos: 25 to 60.

5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the nucleic acid comprises a repeat-spacer unit sequence, wherein the spacer sequence is selected from at least one of SEQ ID NOs: 25 to 60 or a sequence having at least 97% identity to any one of SEQ ID Nos: 25 to 60.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the nucleic acid comprises SEQ ID NO: 22 or a portion thereof comprising at least 200 nucleotides.

7. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene is a sequence having at least 95% identity to SEQ ID No: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and/or 19 over the full length of the sequences.

8. The method according to claim 3 wherein the host cell selected from the group consisting of a Bifidobacterium species, a Brevibacterium species, a Propionibacterium species, a Streptococcus species, a Lactobacillus species including the Enterococcus species, a Pediococcus species, a Leuconostoc species and a Oenococcus species.

9. The method according to claim 3 wherein the host cell is selected from the group consisting of a Lactococcus chungangensis, Lactococcus fujiensis, Lactococcus garvieae, Lactococcus lactis subsp. hordniae, Lactococcus lactis subsp. tructae, Lactococcus piscium, Lactococcus plantarum and Lactococcus raffinolactis strain.

10. A phage-resistant bacterial strain obtained using the method according to claim 3 .

11. A cell culture comprising a host cell according to claim 1 .

12. The cell culture according to claim 11 , wherein the cell culture is a bacterial culture selected from the group consisting of a starter culture, a probiotic culture, a dietary supplement culture.

13. A product comprising the cell culture of claim 11 .

14. The product according to claim 13 wherein said product is selected from the group consisting of: a food product, a feed product, a personal care product, a health care product, a veterinary product and a dietary supplement.

15. The host cell according to claim 1 , wherein the target nucleic acid or transcription product thereof is from a phage.

16. The host cell according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene, the at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats and the spacer are on the same nucleic acid.

17. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene, the at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats and the spacer are on a vector.

18. The host cell according to claim 17 , wherein said vector is a plasmid.

19. The host cell according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene, the at least two Lactococcus CRISPR repeats and the spacer are integrated into the host cell genome.

20. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene is a sequence having at least 95% identity to SEQ ID No: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and/or 19 over the full length of the sequences.

21. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene is a sequence having at least 97% identity to SEQ ID No: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and/or 19 over the full length of the sequences.

22. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene is a sequence having at least 98% identity to SEQ ID No: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and/or 19 over the full length of the sequences.

23. The host cell according to claim 1 wherein the at least one Lactococcus cas gene is a sequence having at least 99% identity to SEQ ID No: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and/or 19 over the full length of the sequences.

24. The host cell according to claim 1 , wherein the host cell comprises at least one Lactococcus cas gene selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID Nos: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19.

25. A cell culture comprising a host cell according to claim 24 .

26. The cell culture according to claim 25 , wherein the cell culture is a bacterial culture selected from the group consisting of a starter culture, a probiotic culture, a dietary supplement culture.

27. A product, wherein:

the product comprises the cell culture of claim 25 ; and

the product is selected from the group consisting of: a food product, a feed product, a personal care product, a health care product, a veterinary product and a dietary supplement.