CRISPR RNA-guided autonomous delivery of Cas9
- Wilkinson, Royce A. [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Martin, Coleman [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Nemudryi, Artem A. [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
- Wiedenheft, Blake [ Montana State University: Microbiology & Cell Biology ]
Cas9 is an endonuclease that can be programed to autonomously deliver diverse effectors to specified genetic addresses. High-resolution structures of this protein and its associated CRISPR RNA guide explain the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR-RNA-guided DNA recognition and provide a molecular blueprint that has facilitated structure-guided functional remodeling. Here we retrace events that led from early efforts to understand the central role of Cas9 in CRISPR-mediated adaptive immunity to contemporary efforts aimed at developing and deploying this enzyme for programmable genetic editing.