CRISPR-based gene knockout in the model haloarchaeon Haloferax mediterranei

Abstract Halophilic archaea, a specialized group of extremophiles that inhabit hypersaline environments, exhibit distinctive physiological and metabolic features. Traditional genetic manipulation of these organisms, predominantly reliant on homologous recombination techniques, suffers from limitations such as complex procedures and extended timelines, which hinder functional genomics research and the development of practical applications. This study established a CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-mediated gene knockout system in the model halophilic archaeon Haloferax mediterranei. A polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated transformation method was used to deliver a plasmid carrying a mini-CRISPR array into H. mediterranei. The crtB gene, involved in pigment synthesis, was successfully knocked out, demonstrating the feasibility of CRISPR-based editing in H. mediterranei. To further validate the reliability and targeting accuracy of the system, the hlyR4 gene, encoding an extracellular serine protease, was also disrupted. The CRISPR-mediated gene knockout efficiency for hlyR4 reached 27%, significantly higher than the approximately 3% efficiency achieved with conventional homologous recombination. The establishment of this CRISPR-based gene knockout system provides a more efficient genetic tool for H. mediterranei and lays a new experimental foundation for exploiting microbial resources from extreme environments. In this study, H. mediterranei was selected as the model organism for haloarchaea. For the first time, we successfully constructed a CRISPR-based gene knockout system in a model halophilic archaeon. This system provides a solution for CRISPR-based gene knockout tools, which are currently unavailable in model halophilic archaea, and offers an effective tool for functional genomics studies in extremophiles.