CRISPR continues to improve

The enzyme taken from bacteria from volcanoes will make CRISPR more accurate and safer

Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+

The Cas12b protein, extracted from heat-loving bacteria and modified to work in the human body, works much more selectively than Cas9. It can become the basis for new methods of gene therapy.

A team of researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new method of genome editing. One of the authors of the work was Zhang Feng, who was at the origins of CRISPR technology.

The article by Strecker et al. Engineering of CRISPR-Cas12b for human genome editing is published in the journal Nature Communications – VM.

The new technique is also based on the CRISPR system, but instead of the standard Cas9 enzyme, it uses Cas12b isolated from the bacterium Bacillus hisashii. Compared with its predecessor, the new enzyme has greater selectivity and smaller size.

Crystal structure of Cas12b (purple) bound to RNA (gold) and DNA (brown) – VM.

Scientists noted the prospects of Cas12b back in 2015, but the enzyme had one serious drawback. It comes from thermophilic bacteria inhabiting hot springs, volcanoes and geysers, and functions only at high temperatures. The team's task was to modify the Cas12b to work at human body temperature.

By combining data on the natural diversity of bacteria with protein engineering tools, scientists have created a version of Cas12b that can edit human immune cells.

The Cas12b family of enzymes is attracting more and more attention from researchers. For example, in 2017, a team from the University of California at Berkeley reported on the prospects of Cas12b isolated from the bacteria Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. The enzyme of its relative, Alicyclobacillus acidiphilus, was used by Chinese specialists to edit mammalian cells.

Experts admit that there are many more promising CRISPR systems in nature that are still unknown to science.

In 2018, CRISPR technology continued to develop rapidly. According to enthusiasts, this technique can change entire branches of human activity, from medicine to agriculture. At the same time, skeptics fear the unpredictable consequences of gene editing.

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