Abstract
Deployment of RNA-guided DNA endonuclease CRISPR–Cas technology has led to radical advances in biology. As the functional diversity of CRISPR–Cas and parallel systems is further explored, RNA manipulation is emerging as a powerful mode of CRISPR-based engineering. In this Perspective, we chart progress in the RNA-targeting CRISPR–Cas (RCas) field and illustrate how continuing evolution in scientific discovery translates into applications for RNA biology and insights into mysteries, obstacles, and alternative technologies that lie ahead.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge J. Schwartz and J. Schmok for their helpful comments in preparing this manuscript. G.W.Y. is supported by grants from the NIH (NS103172, MH107367, EY029166, HG009889, HG004659), from TargetALS, the ALS Association and a Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative Neurodegeneration Challenge Network grant.
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A.A.S. declares inventorship on the following published patents, applied for by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: WO2018035250A1 on methods for bioinformatic discovery of class 2 CRISPR–Cas systems; WO2017070605 on systems, methods, and compositions for targeting nucleic acids with type VI-B CRISPR–Cas systems. G.W.Y is co-founder, member of the Board of Directors, on the SAB, equity holder, and paid consultant for Locana and Eclipse BioInnovations. G.W.Y. is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of California, San Diego in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
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Smargon, A.A., Shi, Y.J. & Yeo, G.W. RNA-targeting CRISPR systems from metagenomic discovery to transcriptomic engineering. Nat Cell Biol 22, 143–150 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0454-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0454-7
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