Image from International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Dead Cas Systems: Types, Principles, and Applications
iGEM Project | Part 8
The history of CRISPR has started a long time ago, but it is only in recent years that it assumed the role it deserves as a key player in the genome editing revolution.
The beginning of this journey date back to the 1980s when the typical CRISPR repeat regions were first observed in Haloferax archaeobacteria. After three decades of studies conducted in laboratories around the world, collaborations, and serendipitous discoveries, the work of several research groups around 2012, particularly that of Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, made it possible to apply this system in genome editing. The most lucky intuition of the two Nobel Prize-winning scientists was to exploit this sophisticated recognition and cutting system to modify the genome of potentially any organism we desire, not just the genome of the bacteria from which CRISPR originates, but also that of animals, yeast, and plants. The Cas protein and a specific RNA transcript for the target are needed only.
The CRISPR/Cas system is a true revolution because it is fast, precise, cost-effective, and, above all, versatile. For example, modified Cas9 proteins have been created, called dead Cas9, which have lost the ability to cut DNA but kept the ability to bind to the guide RNA and thus to the complementary sequence, allowing them to recognize the target DNA without cutting it. This new version is useful for various purposes, particularly for regulating the expression of certain genes.
In short, this technology is only in its early days, but it is already the protagonist of thousands of studies published every year. It is handy in industrial, pharmaceutical, and agro-food applications, as well as in basic and biomedical research. Just think, in perspective, how many steps forward medicine can take in understanding and treating genetic diseases thanks to CRISPR!
We hope that these short articles made you fall in love with CRISPR at least half as much as we have. And if you don’t want to stop being amazed by science, we’ll see you at the next one!