Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Ave, Pinn Hall, Rm: 640, Charlottesville, VA, 22902, USA.
Nat Commun. 2018 May 15;9(1):1911. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04252-2.
CRISPR is becoming an indispensable tool in biological research. Once known as the bacterial immune system against invading viruses, the programmable capacity of the Cas9 enzyme is now revolutionizing diverse fields of medical research, biotechnology, and agriculture. CRISPR-Cas9 is no longer just a gene-editing tool; the application areas of catalytically impaired inactive Cas9, including gene regulation, epigenetic editing, chromatin engineering, and imaging, now exceed the gene-editing functionality of WT Cas9. Here, we will present a brief history of gene-editing tools and describe the wide range of CRISPR-based genome-targeting tools. We will conclude with future directions and the broader impact of CRISPR technologies.
CRISPR 正在成为生物学研究中不可或缺的工具。曾经被称为细菌对抗入侵病毒的免疫系统，Cas9 酶的可编程能力正在彻底改变医学研究、生物技术和农业的多个领域。CRISPR-Cas9 不再仅仅是一种基因编辑工具；失活 Cas9 的催化活性丧失的应用领域，包括基因调控、表观遗传编辑、染色质工程和成像，现在超过了 WT Cas9 的基因编辑功能。在这里，我们将简要介绍基因编辑工具的历史，并描述基于 CRISPR 的基因组靶向工具的广泛应用。最后，我们将讨论未来的方向和 CRISPR 技术的更广泛影响。
