CRISPR/Cas9技术研究进展

Progress of CRISPR/Cas9 system

CRISPR/Cas9是近几年发展起来的基因组编辑技术,它为基因组工程领域带来了新的革命。Cas9可以在20nt左右的向导RNA介导下切割特定的基因组位点,而且几乎可以在任何物种的任何位置发挥作用。而且Cas9只要稍加改造,就可以应用于基因表达调控、表观基因组修饰及活体成像领域:本文综述了CRISPR/Cas9系统的发展历程、作用机理及其所面临的挑战,重点论述了在医学、生物技术及畜牧领域的应用现状及前景。

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been quickly developed for genome editing during recent years. It is a hallmark for the novel revolution of genome engineering technologies. Cas9 could be guided to specific locations within complex genomes from nearly all species by a 20nt short RNA fragment. Fusing Cas9 to modular, sequence-agnostic functional effector domains allows flexible recruitment of desired perturbations, such as transcriptional activation and repression, epigenetic regulation and live imaging. Here we review the history of CRISPR/Cas9 system development, its mechanisms of specific recognition and excision, and outstanding challenges for Cas9 application. This review is focused on the current application and future directions of medicine, biotechnologies and animal husbandry.