
Figure 3 and (A) Histogram showing the per-gene Spearman correlation between the rate of depletion ( β e ) estimated from the Bayesian vulnerability model and the predicted strength for targeting sgRNAs. All CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls in H37Rv (n = 552) are included in this analysis. (B) Histogram of the vulnerability indices estimated from 5,000 parameter samples for mmpL3 ( rv0206c ), embB ( rv3795 ), rv2477c , and moeB1 ( rv3206c ). The vulnerability index 95% credible regions are depicted by dashed lines. (C) Histogram showing the potential influence of the CRISPRi polar effect on vulnerability. The difference in vulnerability index between any downstream gene and its respective upstream gene in the operon is depicted (VI downstream gene – VI upstream gene; n = 657 comparisons). Dashed line depicts the mean difference in VI (mean, 1.658). (D) Histogram of vulnerability indices for genes predicted to be essential by CRISPRi and with confident vulnerability calls, highlighting genes predicted to have an essential domain according to TnSeq (
DeJesus et al., 2017 ). (E) Violin plot depicting the vulnerability index for different groups of genes: all CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls (All Ess; n = 552), genes predicted to have an essential domain (Domain Ess; n = 26), genes without an essential domain (Not Domain Ess; n = 526), and genes in the top (n = 138) and bottom (n = 138) quartiles of vulnerability index. Dot and error bars represent mean and SD. Significance (p-value) is calculated using a two-sided t-test. (F-H) Scatterplot of gene vulnerability ratios and/or individual gene parameter estimates. Only confident vulnerability index estimates are shown (see main text for details). (F) depicts the relationship between γ and M ; (G) depicts the relationship between β m a x and M ; (H) depicts the relationship between β m a x and γ . (I and J) Scatterplot showing the relationship between gene mRNA levels as quantified by RNaseq (I) or protein levels as quantified by mass spectrometry (J) (
Schubert et al., 2015 ) and gene vulnerability. Only confident vulnerability index estimates are shown (see for details). " width="100%" height="100%">
Journal: Cell
Article Title: Genome-wide gene expression tuning reveals diverse vulnerabilities of M. tuberculosis
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.033
Figure Lengend Snippet: Individual vulnerability model parameters are gene specific, and vulnerability is not correlated with gene expression levels, related to Figure 3 and (A) Histogram showing the per-gene Spearman correlation between the rate of depletion ( β e ) estimated from the Bayesian vulnerability model and the predicted strength for targeting sgRNAs. All CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls in H37Rv (n = 552) are included in this analysis. (B) Histogram of the vulnerability indices estimated from 5,000 parameter samples for mmpL3 ( rv0206c ), embB ( rv3795 ), rv2477c , and moeB1 ( rv3206c ). The vulnerability index 95% credible regions are depicted by dashed lines. (C) Histogram showing the potential influence of the CRISPRi polar effect on vulnerability. The difference in vulnerability index between any downstream gene and its respective upstream gene in the operon is depicted (VI downstream gene – VI upstream gene; n = 657 comparisons). Dashed line depicts the mean difference in VI (mean, 1.658). (D) Histogram of vulnerability indices for genes predicted to be essential by CRISPRi and with confident vulnerability calls, highlighting genes predicted to have an essential domain according to TnSeq ( DeJesus et al., 2017 ). (E) Violin plot depicting the vulnerability index for different groups of genes: all CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls (All Ess; n = 552), genes predicted to have an essential domain (Domain Ess; n = 26), genes without an essential domain (Not Domain Ess; n = 526), and genes in the top (n = 138) and bottom (n = 138) quartiles of vulnerability index. Dot and error bars represent mean and SD. Significance (p-value) is calculated using a two-sided t-test. (F-H) Scatterplot of gene vulnerability ratios and/or individual gene parameter estimates. Only confident vulnerability index estimates are shown (see main text for details). (F) depicts the relationship between γ and M ; (G) depicts the relationship between β m a x and M ; (H) depicts the relationship between β m a x and γ . (I and J) Scatterplot showing the relationship between gene mRNA levels as quantified by RNaseq (I) or protein levels as quantified by mass spectrometry (J) ( Schubert et al., 2015 ) and gene vulnerability. Only confident vulnerability index estimates are shown (see for details).
Article Snippet: sgRNA oligo arrays to clone CRISPRi libraries RLC11 and RLC12 , This paper , Addgene #163955 and #163954; Github: https://github.com/rock-lab/vulnerability_2021.
Techniques: Gene Expression, Mass Spectrometry

Figure 4 , , and (A) Histogram depicting the number of sgRNAs per gene in the Msmeg CRISPRi library (RLC11; Addgene #163955). The library targets 6,642 of the 6,679 annotated Msmeg genes. (B) Next generation sequencing quality-control metrics for the Msmeg CRISPRi library. The “Plasmid” column depicts metrics for the RLC11 plasmid library following cloning and isolation from E. coli . The “Msmeg” column depicts library metrics following transformation and expansion in Msmeg. Skew ratio represents the ratio between top and bottom 10% of sgRNA counts. (C and D) Correlation heatmap of the triplicate screens performed in Msmeg depicting TnSeq essential gene (
Dragset et al., 2019 ) targeting sgRNAs in the –ATc (C) and +ATc (D) cultures. (E) Boxen plots comparing time-dependent changes in sgRNA L2FC values targeting genes defined as Essential (n = 27,702 sgRNAs) and Non-Essential (n = 120,429) by TnSeq (
Dragset et al., 2019 ). Mean L2FC (solid line) and quantiles beyond the 25 th and 75 th percentiles are shown (boxes). Also depicted are control Non-Targeting sgRNAs (n = 7,421). (F) Hierarchical clustering of gene level depletion from the Msmeg CRISPRi fitness screen. Each row represents a single targeted Msmeg gene. (G) Bar chart showing the overlap between gene calls by TnSeq (
Dragset et al., 2019 ) and CRISPRi. 73% of TnSeq essential calls (291 of 401) are shared with CRISPRi. (H) Histogram showing the per-gene Spearman correlation between the rate of depletion ( β e ) estimated from the Bayesian vulnerability model and the predicted strength for targeting sgRNAs. All CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls in Msmeg are included in this analysis. (I) Growth kinetics of the hypomorphic sgRNAs (mean ± SD) shown in
Figure 4 C. The linear model predicted sgRNA strengths are listed in parentheses next to each gene name. All strains were grown for 15 generations in the presence or absence of ATc and then used to seed cultures for the time-course experiment shown here. Growth for 15 generations ± ATc ensures all strains have reached steady-state growth in response to CRISPRi target gene knockdown. NT, non-targeting. (J) Quantification of target gene mRNA levels by qRT-PCR (biological triplicates; mean ± SEM) of the hypomorphic strains depicted in
Figure 4 C. (K) Effect of titrating the ATc concentration (range 0-500 ng/mL) on growth (mean ± SD) of the indicated strains from
Figure 4 C. These strains encode either a non-targeting (NT) sgRNA or a strong sgRNA (predicted strength range, 0.94 – 1.00) against the indicated target. Strains are color coded by vulnerability as in
Figure 4 D. " width="100%" height="100%">
Journal: Cell
Article Title: Genome-wide gene expression tuning reveals diverse vulnerabilities of M. tuberculosis
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.033
Figure Lengend Snippet: Genome-scale CRISPRi in Msmeg, related to Figure 4 , , and (A) Histogram depicting the number of sgRNAs per gene in the Msmeg CRISPRi library (RLC11; Addgene #163955). The library targets 6,642 of the 6,679 annotated Msmeg genes. (B) Next generation sequencing quality-control metrics for the Msmeg CRISPRi library. The “Plasmid” column depicts metrics for the RLC11 plasmid library following cloning and isolation from E. coli . The “Msmeg” column depicts library metrics following transformation and expansion in Msmeg. Skew ratio represents the ratio between top and bottom 10% of sgRNA counts. (C and D) Correlation heatmap of the triplicate screens performed in Msmeg depicting TnSeq essential gene ( Dragset et al., 2019 ) targeting sgRNAs in the –ATc (C) and +ATc (D) cultures. (E) Boxen plots comparing time-dependent changes in sgRNA L2FC values targeting genes defined as Essential (n = 27,702 sgRNAs) and Non-Essential (n = 120,429) by TnSeq ( Dragset et al., 2019 ). Mean L2FC (solid line) and quantiles beyond the 25 th and 75 th percentiles are shown (boxes). Also depicted are control Non-Targeting sgRNAs (n = 7,421). (F) Hierarchical clustering of gene level depletion from the Msmeg CRISPRi fitness screen. Each row represents a single targeted Msmeg gene. (G) Bar chart showing the overlap between gene calls by TnSeq ( Dragset et al., 2019 ) and CRISPRi. 73% of TnSeq essential calls (291 of 401) are shared with CRISPRi. (H) Histogram showing the per-gene Spearman correlation between the rate of depletion ( β e ) estimated from the Bayesian vulnerability model and the predicted strength for targeting sgRNAs. All CRISPRi essential genes with confident vulnerability calls in Msmeg are included in this analysis. (I) Growth kinetics of the hypomorphic sgRNAs (mean ± SD) shown in Figure 4 C. The linear model predicted sgRNA strengths are listed in parentheses next to each gene name. All strains were grown for 15 generations in the presence or absence of ATc and then used to seed cultures for the time-course experiment shown here. Growth for 15 generations ± ATc ensures all strains have reached steady-state growth in response to CRISPRi target gene knockdown. NT, non-targeting. (J) Quantification of target gene mRNA levels by qRT-PCR (biological triplicates; mean ± SEM) of the hypomorphic strains depicted in Figure 4 C. (K) Effect of titrating the ATc concentration (range 0-500 ng/mL) on growth (mean ± SD) of the indicated strains from Figure 4 C. These strains encode either a non-targeting (NT) sgRNA or a strong sgRNA (predicted strength range, 0.94 – 1.00) against the indicated target. Strains are color coded by vulnerability as in Figure 4 D.
Article Snippet: sgRNA oligo arrays to clone CRISPRi libraries RLC11 and RLC12 , This paper , Addgene #163955 and #163954; Github: https://github.com/rock-lab/vulnerability_2021.
Techniques: Next-Generation Sequencing, Control, Plasmid Preparation, Cloning, Isolation, Transformation Assay, Knockdown, Quantitative RT-PCR, Concentration Assay

Figure S4 C), which, for the purposes of this analysis, were considered INV. (D) Logistic regression curves of the indicated Mtb gene groups. Each colored line represents a single gene. The solid black line represents the locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) fit of the individual mean logistic regressions. (E) Detailed view of the different vulnerabilities of Mtb genes involved in DNA replication. Genes are color coded by their VI. Darker shades of purple indicate higher vulnerability. The density scale represents the fraction of CRISPRi essential genes with confident VI calls. Figure adapted from . ∗ , low-confidence call. See also and and . " width="100%" height="100%">
Journal: Cell
Article Title: Genome-wide gene expression tuning reveals diverse vulnerabilities of M. tuberculosis
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.033
Figure Lengend Snippet: Pathway analysis identifies differentially vulnerable processes in mycobacteria (A) Heatmap of fitness cost (scaled β e ) as a function of increasing sgRNA strength. Each row represents a single Mtb gene for which a high-confidence VI is available. (B) Table depicting evolutionary conservation between Mtb and eight other bacterial species. For the most vulnerable (VUL; n = 138) and invulnerable (INV; n = 138) H37Rv Mtb genes, the frequency with which a homolog was identified (“genes with homolog”) and the average amino acid similarity (“average similarity of homologs”; % ± SEM) are reported. For the four bacterial species for which genome-wide essentiality calls are available, conservation of essentiality (%) is also listed. M. smeg , M. smegmatis ; M. abs , M. abscessus ; C. glut , C. glutamicum ; B. sub , B. subtilis . ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001. ns, not significant. (C) Bubble plot of the enriched (p < 0.05) PATRIC subclasses for the top quartile VUL and bottom quartile INV Mtb and Msmeg ( Msm ) genes. Conserved subclass enrichment is depicted in bold type. The star represents subclasses where some or all of the corresponding Msmeg homologs are non-essential ( Figure S4 C), which, for the purposes of this analysis, were considered INV. (D) Logistic regression curves of the indicated Mtb gene groups. Each colored line represents a single gene. The solid black line represents the locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) fit of the individual mean logistic regressions. (E) Detailed view of the different vulnerabilities of Mtb genes involved in DNA replication. Genes are color coded by their VI. Darker shades of purple indicate higher vulnerability. The density scale represents the fraction of CRISPRi essential genes with confident VI calls. Figure adapted from . ∗ , low-confidence call. See also and and .
Article Snippet: sgRNA oligo arrays to clone CRISPRi libraries RLC11 and RLC12 , This paper , Addgene #163955 and #163954; Github: https://github.com/rock-lab/vulnerability_2021.
Techniques: Genome Wide

Figure 5 and Vulnerability estimates for Mtb H37Rv amino acid metabolic genes and tRNA synthetases. Only genes that are CRISPRi essential and have a vulnerability call with high confidence are shown. Genes are color coded as in
Figure 5 E. The density scale in the figure legend represents the fraction of CRISPRi essential genes with certain vulnerability calls. " width="100%" height="100%">
Journal: Cell
Article Title: Genome-wide gene expression tuning reveals diverse vulnerabilities of M. tuberculosis
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.033
Figure Lengend Snippet: tRNA synthetases are choke points in Mtb translation, related to Figure 5 and Vulnerability estimates for Mtb H37Rv amino acid metabolic genes and tRNA synthetases. Only genes that are CRISPRi essential and have a vulnerability call with high confidence are shown. Genes are color coded as in Figure 5 E. The density scale in the figure legend represents the fraction of CRISPRi essential genes with certain vulnerability calls.
Article Snippet: sgRNA oligo arrays to clone CRISPRi libraries RLC11 and RLC12 , This paper , Addgene #163955 and #163954; Github: https://github.com/rock-lab/vulnerability_2021.
Techniques: