CRISPR gene-editing possible in temperature sensitive organisms, plants & crop varieties

Source: The post is based on the article “CRISPR gene-editing possible in temperature sensitive organisms, plants & crop varieties” published in PIB on 3rd November 2022.

What is the News?

The CRISPR gene-editing technology that received the Nobel Prize in 2020 has witnessed a new height. Indian scientists have now demonstrated for the first time that the CRISPR-associated Cas9 enzyme can bind to and cut the target DNA at very low temperatures.

What is CRISPR?

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) are short DNA sequences found in the genome of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria, which are reminders of previous bacteriophage (viruses) attacks that the bacteria successfully defended against. 

Cas9 enzyme (part of bacteria’s defense mechanism) uses these flags to precisely target and cut any foreign DNA, thus protecting the bacteria from future attacks by similar bacteriophages. 

The unprecedented precision of targeting the DNA sequences and then efficiently cutting them is the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

What has been demonstrated by scientists now related to CRISPR?

CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been successfully used for many purposes including basic studies of gene function, agriculture and medicine to increase our knowledge of disease processes and their potential future therapies. So far, most binding trials were typically performed at 37 °C.

Now the Indian scientists have demonstrated for the first time that the associated Cas9 enzyme, which acts as molecular scissors to cut DNA at a location specified by a guide RNA, can bind to and cut the target DNA at very low temperatures as low as 4 degrees Celsius.

This will make it possible to edit genes in temperature-sensitive organisms, plants or crop varieties.