Very fast CRISPR on demand

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aay8204
• Publication Date: 2020-06-11T23:15:16Z
• Authors: Yang Liu; Roger S. Zou; Shuaixin He; Yuta Nihongaki; Xiaoguang Li; Shiva Razavi; Bin Wu; Taekjip Ha
• Keywords: Gene Editing; 0301 basic medicine; MRE11 Homologue Protein; DNA Repair; Light; Optical Imaging; Histones; 03 medical and health sciences; HEK293 Cells; CRISPR-Associated Protein 9; Humans; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; CRISPR-Cas Systems; DNA Cleavage; Phosphorylation; Single-Cell Analysis

Very fast CRISPR on demand

Numerous efforts have been made to improve the temporal resolution of CRISPR-Cas9–mediated DNA cleavage to the hour time scale. Liu et al. developed a Cas9 system that achieved genome-editing manipulation at the second time scale (see the Perspective by Medhi and Jasin). Part of the guide RNA is chemically caged, allowing the Cas9-guide RNA complex to bind at a specific genomic locus without cleavage until activation by light. This fast CRISPR system achieves genome editing at high temporal resolution, enabling the study of early molecular events of DNA repair processes. This system also has high spatial resolution at short time scales, allowing editing of one genomic allele while leaving the other unperturbed.

Science , this issue p. 1265 ; see also p. 1180