scholarly journals CRISPR-Cas12a (Cpf1): A Versatile Tool in the Plant Genome Editing Tool Box for Agricultural Advancement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindya Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Nagesh Kancharla ◽  
vivek javalkote ◽  
santanu dasgupta ◽  
Thomas Brutnell
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Temperature Stability ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Guide Rna ◽  
Versatile Tool ◽  
Type V ◽  
Global Population

Global population is predicted to approach 10 billion by 2050, an increase of over 2 billion from today. To meet the demands of growing, geographically and socio-economically diversified nations, we need to diversity and expand agricultural production. This expansion of agricultural productivity will need to occur under increasing biotic, and environmental constraints driven by climate change. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-site directed nucleases (CRISPR-SDN) and similar genome editing technologies will likely be key enablers to meet future agricultural needs. While the application of CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome editing has led the way, the use of CRISPR-Cas12a is also increasing significantly for genome engineering of plants. The popularity of the CRISPR-Cas12a, the type V (class-II) system, is gaining momentum because of its versatility and simplified features. These include the use of a small guide RNA devoid of trans-activating crispr RNA (tracrRNA), targeting of T-rich regions of the genome where Cas9 is not suitable for use, RNA processing capability facilitating simpler multiplexing, and its ability to generate double strand breaks (DSB) with staggered ends. Many monocot and dicot species have been successfully edited using this Cas12a system and further research is ongoing to improve its efficiency in plants, including improving the temperature stability of the Cas12a enzyme, identifying new variants of Cas12a or synthetically producing Cas12a with flexible PAM sequences. In this review we provide a comparative survey of CRISPR-Cas12a and Cas9, and provide a perspective on applications of CRISPR-Cas12 in agriculture.

scholarly journals Double nicking by RNA-directed Cascade-nCas3 for high-efficiency large-scale genome engineering

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yile Hao ◽  
Qinhua Wang ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Shihui Yang ◽  
Lixin Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Helicase Domain ◽  
Type I ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Type V

New CRISPR-based genome editing technologies are developed to continuedly drive advances in life sciences, which, however, are predominantly derived from systems of Type II CRISPR-Cas9 and Type V CRISPR-Cas12a for eukaryotes. Here we report a novel CRISPR-n(nickase)Cas3 genome editing tool established upon an endogenous Type I system of Zymomonas mobilis. We demonstrate that nCas3 variants can be created by alanine-substituting any catalytic residue of the Cas3 helicase domain. While nCas3 overproduction via plasmid shows severe cytotoxicity; an in situ nCas3 introduces targeted double-strand breaks, facilitating genome editing, without visible cell killing. By harnessing this CRISPR-nCas3, deletion of genes or genomic DNA stretches can be consistently accomplished with near-100% efficiencies, including simultaneous removal of two large genomic fragments. Our work describes the first establishment of a CRISPR-nCas3-based genome editing technology, thereby offering a simple, easy, yet useful approach to convert many endogenous Type I systems into advanced genome editing tools. We envision that many CRISPR-nCas3-based toolkits would be soon available for various industrially important non-model bacteria that carry active Type I systems to facilitate high-throughput prokaryotic engineering.

scholarly journals CRISPR-Cas12a exploits R-loop asymmetry to form double-strand breaks

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua C Cofsky ◽  
Deepti Karandur ◽  
Carolyn J Huang ◽  
Isaac P Witte ◽  
John Kuriyan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Loop Structure ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Guide Rna ◽  
Double Stranded Dna ◽  
Type V ◽  
Dna Substrate

Type V CRISPR-Cas interference proteins use a single RuvC active site to make RNA-guided breaks in double-stranded DNA substrates, an activity essential for both bacterial immunity and genome editing. The best-studied of these enzymes, Cas12a, initiates DNA cutting by forming a 20-nucleotide R-loop in which the guide RNA displaces one strand of a double-helical DNA substrate, positioning the DNase active site for first-strand cleavage. However, crystal structures and biochemical data have not explained how the second strand is cut to complete the double-strand break. Here, we detect intrinsic instability in DNA flanking the RNA-3′ side of R-loops, which Cas12a can exploit to expose second-strand DNA for cutting. Interestingly, DNA flanking the RNA-5′ side of R-loops is not intrinsically unstable. This asymmetry in R-loop structure may explain the uniformity of guide RNA architecture and the single-active-site cleavage mechanism that are fundamental features of all type V CRISPR-Cas systems.

scholarly journals Recent advances of Cas12a applications in bacteria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meliawati Meliawati ◽  
Christoph Schilling ◽  
Jochen Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Bacterial Genome ◽  
Adaptive Immune System ◽  
Eukaryotic Cell ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Guide Rna ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Versatile Tool

Abstract Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-mediated genome engineering and related technologies have revolutionized biotechnology over the last decade by enhancing the efficiency of sophisticated biological systems. Cas12a (Cpf1) is an RNA-guided endonuclease associated to the CRISPR adaptive immune system found in many prokaryotes. Contrary to its more prominent counterpart Cas9, Cas12a recognizes A/T rich DNA sequences and is able to process its corresponding guide RNA directly, rendering it a versatile tool for multiplex genome editing efforts and other applications in biotechnology. While Cas12a has been extensively used in eukaryotic cell systems, microbial applications are still limited. In this review, we highlight the mechanistic and functional differences between Cas12a and Cas9 and focus on recent advances of applications using Cas12a in bacterial hosts. Furthermore, we discuss advantages as well as current challenges and give a future outlook for this promising alternative CRISPR-Cas system for bacterial genome editing and beyond. Key points • Cas12a is a powerful tool for genome engineering and transcriptional perturbation • Cas12a causes less toxic side effects in bacteria than Cas9 • Self-processing of crRNA arrays facilitates multiplexing approaches

scholarly journals Microhomology-mediated CRISPR/Cas9-based method for genome editing in fission yeast

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki Hayashi ◽  
Katsunori Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
End Joining ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Guide Rna

The CRISPR/Cas9 system enables the editing of genomes of numerous organisms through the induction of the double-strand breaks (DSB) at specific chromosomal targets. We improved the CRISPR/Cas9 system to ease the direct introduction of a point mutation or a tagging sequence into the chromosome by combining it with the microhomology mediated end joining (MMEJ)-based genome editing in fission yeast. We constructed convenient cloning vectors, which possessed a guide RNA (gRNA) expression module, or the humanized Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 gene that is expressed under the control of an inducible promoter to avoid the needless expression, or both a gRNA and Cas9 gene. Using this system, we attempted the MMEJ-mediated genome editing and found that the MMEJ-mediated method provides high-frequency genome editing at target loci without the need of a long donor DNA. Using short oligonucleotides, we successfully introduced point mutations into two target genes at high frequency. We also precisely integrated the sequences for epitope and GFP tagging using donor DNA possessing microhomology into the target loci, which enabled us to obtain cells expressing N-terminally tagged fusion proteins. This system could expedite genome editing in fission yeast, and could be applicable to other organisms.

scholarly journals Double nicking by RNA-directed Cascade-nCas3 for high-efficiency large-scale genome engineering

Open Biology ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yile Hao ◽  
Qinhua Wang ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Shihui Yang ◽  
Yanli Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Helicase Domain ◽  
Type I ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Gene Insertion ◽  
Type V

New CRISPR-based genome editing technologies are developed to continually drive advances in life sciences, which, however, are predominantly derived from systems of Type II CRISPR-Cas9 and Type V CRISPR-Cas12a for eukaryotes. Here we report a novel CRISPR-n(nickase)Cas3 genome editing tool established upon a Type I-F system. We demonstrate that nCas3 variants can be created by alanine-substituting any catalytic residue of the Cas3 helicase domain. While nCas3 overproduction via plasmid shows severe cytotoxicity, an in situ nCas3 introduces targeted double-strand breaks, facilitating genome editing without visible cell killing. By harnessing this CRISPR-nCas3 in situ gene insertion, nucleotide substitution and deletion of genes or genomic DNA stretches can be consistently accomplished with near-100% efficiencies, including simultaneous removal of two large genomic fragments. Our work describes the first establishment of a CRISPR-nCas3-based genome editing technology, thereby offering a simple, yet useful approach to convert the naturally most abundantly occurring Type I systems into advanced genome editing tools to facilitate high-throughput prokaryotic engineering.

scholarly journals Retrons and their applications in genome engineering

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (21) ◽  
pp. 11007-11019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna J Simon ◽  
Andrew D Ellington ◽  
Ilya J Finkelstein
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Modern Biology ◽  
Genetic Transmission ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Reverse Transcriptases ◽  
Natural Function ◽  
And Function

Abstract Precision genome editing technologies have transformed modern biology. These technologies have arisen from the redirection of natural biological machinery, such as bacteriophage lambda proteins for recombineering and CRISPR nucleases for eliciting site-specific double-strand breaks. Less well-known is a widely distributed class of bacterial retroelements, retrons, that employ specialized reverse transcriptases to produce noncoding intracellular DNAs. Retrons’ natural function and mechanism of genetic transmission have remained enigmatic. However, recent studies have harnessed their ability to produce DNA in situ for genome editing and evolution. This review describes retron biology and function in both natural and synthetic contexts. We also highlight areas that require further study to advance retron-based precision genome editing platforms.

scholarly journals The Maize Transposable Element Ac Induces Recombination Between the Donor Site and an Homologous Ectopic Sequence

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 1143-1151
Author(s):  
Gil Shalev ◽  
Avraham A Levy
Keyword(s):  
Transposable Element ◽  
Donor Site ◽  
Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Blue Staining ◽  
Dna Double Strand Breaks ◽  
End Joining ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Ectopic Recombination

The prominent repair mechanism of DNA double-strand breaks formed upon excision of the maize Ac transposable element is via nonhomologous end joining. In this work we have studied the role of homologous recombination as an additional repair pathway. To this end, we developed an assay whereby β-Glucuronidase (GUS) activity is restored upon recombination between two homologous ectopic (nonallelic) sequences in transgenic tobacco plants. One of the recombination partners carried a deletion at the 5′ end of GUS and an Ac or a Ds element inserted at the deletion site. The other partner carried an intact 5′ end of the GUS open reading frame and had a deletion at the 3′ end of the gene. Based on GUS reactivation data, we found that the excision of Ac induced recombination between ectopic sequences by at least two orders of magnitude. Recombination events, visualized by blue staining, were detected in seedlings, in pollen and in protoplasts. DNA fragments corresponding to recombination events were recovered exclusively in crosses with Ac-carrying plants, providing physical evidence for Ac-induced ectopic recombination. The occurrence of ectopic recombination following double-strand breaks is a potentially important factor in plant genome evolution.

scholarly journals Development of Beet necrotic yellow vein virus ‐based vectors for multiple‐gene expression and guide RNA delivery in plant genome editing

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 1302-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Jiang ◽  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Jun‐Ying Liu ◽  
Zhi‐Hong Guo ◽  
Zong‐Ying Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Yellow Vein ◽  
Multiple Gene ◽  
Guide Rna

scholarly journals A multiplex guide RNA expression system and its efficacy for plant genome engineering

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngbin Oh ◽  
Hyeonjin Kim ◽  
Bora Lee ◽  
Sang-Gyu Kim
Keyword(s):  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Binary Vector ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Nicotiana Attenuata ◽  
Specific Sequence ◽  
Editing Efficiency ◽  
Guide Rna ◽  
Assembly Method ◽  
A Genome

Abstract BackgroundThe Streptococcus pyogenes CRISPR system is composed of a Cas9 endonuclease (SpCas9) and a single-stranded guide RNA (gRNA) harboring a target-specific sequence. Theoretically, SpCas9 proteins could cleave as many targeted loci as gRNAs bind in a genome.ResultsWe introduce a PCR-free multiple gRNA cloning system for editing plant genomes. This method consists of two steps: (1) cloning annealed products of two oligonucleotides harboring target-binding sequence between tRNA and gRNA scaffold sequences in a pGRNA vector; and (2) assembling tRNA-gRNA units from several pGRNA vectors with a plant binary vector containing a SpCas9 expression cassette using the Golden Gate assembly method. We validated the editing efficiency and patterns of the multiplex gRNA expression system in wild tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata) protoplasts and in transformed plants by performing targeted deep sequencing. Two proximal cleavages by SpCas9-gRNA largely increased the editing efficiency and induced large deletions between two cleavage sites.ConclusionsThis multiplex gRNA expression system enables high-throughput production of a single binary vector and increases the efficiency of plant genome editing.

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