The mechanism of the CRISPR-Cas system response to invading phages or plasmids can be summarised in three stages: adaptation; expression; and interference [22]. During adaptation, the Cas protein binds to the invading DNA by recognising the protospacer-adjacent motif and acquiring a protospacer sequence from the target DNA.
This is a description of one-way scientists are studying bacteriophages and one purpose they can have.