CRISPR as a strong gene editing tool

Shengfu Shen, Tiing Jen Loh, Hongling Shen, Xuexiu Zheng, Haihong Shen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview ArticleOtherpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is a new and effective genetic editing tool. CRISPR was initially found in bacteria to protect it from virus invasions. In the first step, specific DNA strands of virus are identified by guide RNA that is composed of crRNA and tracrRNA. Then RNAse III is required for producing crRNA from pre-crRNA. In The second step, a crRNA:tracrRNA:Cas9 complex guides RNase III to cleave target DNA. After cleavage of DNA by CRISPR-Cas9, DNA can be fixed by Non- Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) and Homology Directed Repair (HDR). Whereas NHEJ is simple and random, HDR is much more complex and accurate. Gene editing by CRISPR is able to be applied to various biological field such as agriculture and treating genetic diseases in human. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(1): 20-24]

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)20-24
Number of pages5
JournalBMB Reports
Volume50
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • CRISPR
  • Gene editing,
  • Homology directed repair
  • Nonhomologous end joining

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