The CRISPR-Cas9 gene scissors allow to modify the genome of organisms, but also of cells. However, this often leads to faulty cuts, because the genetic scissors also cut in those genetic regions that are merely similar to the desired target sequence (so-called "OFF-Target Effects").

For this purpose, the scientists used molecular biological methods to produce a hybrid of the original CRISPR gene scissors and so-called anti-CRISPR proteins, which reduce the activity of the gene scissors. They then compared the artificially attenuated gene scissors with the original variant in cell cultures. They observed that the weakened gene shears often cut more precisely than the original variant. However, the accuracy depended on the sequence of the genetic material being targeted.

The researchers have published their work in Science Advances:
Aschenbrenner, S., Kallenberger, S. M., Hoffmann, M. D., A. Huck, Eils, R., & Niopek, D. Coupling Cas9 to artificial inhibitory domains enhances CRISPR-Cas9 target specificity. Sci. Adv. 6, eaay0187 (2020). https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/6/eaay0187

Source:
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