Science's revolutionary new tool: a newly discovered CRISPR system, Craspase

A new study from Cornell University comprehensively elucidates the workings

The study, conducted by Robert J.

The CRISPR-Cas system is an RNA-guided nuclease in bacteria that can cleave viral DNA or RNA targets at precise locations, enabling powerful genome editing applications

"On the one hand, this association is completely unexpected and points to a new model of bacterial antiviral action," Ke said, "on the other hand, we can use such a system to develop many biotechnology and therapeutic applications if we understand all the small inventions

The researchers published the paper

"These snapshots form a high-definition molecular film, and by looking back and forth, we know exactly how Craspase recognizes RNA targets, which in turn activates proteases, how long the activity lasts, and what ultimately shuts down the protease activity

One of the authors, Chunyi Hu, a postdoc in Ke's lab, said the Craspase system has attracted a great deal of interest

"For other CRISPR techniques, there are concerns about whether the enzymes we use to edit DNA are safe enough, and if there may be collateral damage or off-target, with Craspase, we can achieve many of the same beneficial treatment outcomes without worrying about the safety of

Ke said the work reported in the paper also helps researchers understand the role

Recent research will also help scientists understand the similarities between programmed cell death in human cell pathways and programmed cell death in bacterial cell pathways

"We realized that in two kingdoms of life, the same group of proteases (caspases) control programmed pathways of cell death, and this study reveals how entrenched

In addition to diving deeper into the functional aspects of the process, Ke said the team will also move into applications, which may include animal tissue engineering and agricultural engineering

Article title

Craspase is a CRISPR RNA-guided, RNA-activated protease