Can CRISPR be made even more precise?

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

CRISPR, the youngest technique on the block, is cheaper, more versatile, and more precise than its predecessors. And scientists are racing to improve it even further, developing new versions that are even more efficient, that can subtly change the emphasis of genetic words rather than deleting them outright, and that make fewer mistakes.CRISPR consists of two components: An enzyme called Cas9 — a pair of molecular scissors that grabs DNA and cuts it into two; and a guide RNA — a molecule that tells Cas9 exactly what to cut.

But Cas9 isn’t perfect. Sometimes, it will cut a target that mostly matches its guide RNA, but not entirely. These off-target cuts are a nuisance to CRISPR users, who have flocked to the technique precisely because it’s meant to be precise.

CRISPR pioneers Feng Zhang and George Church are trying to change the Cas9 editor itself. First, they created half-hearted versions. The usual enzyme checks a DNA sequence against its guide RNA and then cuts both strands, but the mutant versions cut just one strand. So you need two of them, checking their own guide RNAs, to fully sever a stretch of DNA. It’s unlikely that both enzymes will get things wrong, so together, they become more specific.

Read full, original post: The Quest to Make CRISPR Even More Precise
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