Advances in Chemical Biology

0503190 - ÚMG 2019 RIV CZ eng M - Monography Chapter
Schuster, Bjorn - Chawengsaksophak, Kallayanee
Novel additions to the CRISPR/Cas tool box beyond SpCas9. Advances in Chemical Biology.
Advances in Chemical Biology. Praha: OPTIO CZ, 2019 - (Bartůněk, P.), s. 104-113. ISBN 978-80-88011-03-3
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT LO1220
Institutional support: RVO:68378050
Keywords : CRISPR/Cas tool box * Cas9 endonuclease * SpCas9, the guide RNA
OECD category: Biochemistry and molecular biology

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) are found in archaea and many bacteria were they play a role in adaptive immunity against invasion of foreign genetic elements in the form of plasmids or bacteriophages. This bacterial defense machinery acts via specific degradation of the invading nucleic acid by nucleases. In this system, the invading genetic element is recognized by a complex of a short RNA molecule (the guide RNA) and a protein containing nuclease activity. In 2013, the CRISPR/Cas system has been repurposed and converted into a programmable tool for precision genome engineering. The first and most prominent member of the CRISPR/Cas systems employed as a programmable nuclease is Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) and it became the best studied and most widely used ribo-nuclease today in a broad range of applications. Despite the great success of Cas9, the search and harnessing of other, alternative orthologue CRISPR systems continued expanding our toolbox for genomic manipulations, transcriptional regulation or sequence specific detection of nucleic acids. Since these newly discovered CRISPR systems complement the functionality and provide interesting alternatives to SpCas9, with promising advantages regarding the size, specificity and additional features, we highlight the new additions to the CRISPR-toolbox in this mini-review.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0295017