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New Insight into an Emerging Genome-Editing Tool

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2014Scienceactinomyces naeslundii, anacas9, bacteria, bacterial immune system, berkeley lab, biochemist, biophysicist, cas9, cas9 enzymes, crispr, david taylor, DNA, enzyme, eva nogales, fuguo jiang, genetic element, genetically engineered, genome editing tool, guide rna, jennifer doudna, microbes, spycas, streptococcus pyogenes

Berkeley Researchers Show Expanded Role for Guide RNA in Cas9 Interactions with DNA

The potential is there for bacteria and other microbes to be genetically engineered to perform a cornucopia of valuable goods and services, from the production of safer, more effective medicines and clean, green, sustainable fuels, to the clean-up and restoration of our air, water and land. Cells from eukaryotic organisms can also be modified for research or to fight disease. To achieve these and other worthy goals, the ability to precisely edit the instructions contained within a target’s genome is a must. A powerful new tool for genome editing and gene regulation has emerged in the form of a family of enzymes known as Cas9, which plays a critical role in the bacterial immune system. Cas9 should become an even more valuable tool with the creation of the first detailed picture of its three-dimensional shape by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. (more…)

Puzzling Question in Bacterial Immune System Answered

By Guest PostFebruary 6, 2014Sciencebacterial enzyme, bacterial immune system, bacterial microbes face, Berkeley, berkeley lab, cas9, cas9 enzyme, crispr associated, crrna molecule, eric greene, genomic dna, jennifer doudna, martin jinek, nucleic acid, pam, pam sequences, plasmids, protospacer adjacent motif, puzzling question, rna, samuel sternberg, short dna sequence, sy redding, synthetic biology, uc, university of california

Berkeley Researchers Uncover the Key to Self-Awareness in Genome Editor

A central question has been answered regarding a protein that plays an essential role in the bacterial immune system and is fast becoming a valuable tool for genetic engineering. A team of researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have determined how the bacterial enzyme known as Cas9, guided by RNA, is able to identify and degrade foreign DNA during viral infections, as well as induce site-specific genetic changes in animal and plant cells. Through a combination of single-molecule imaging and bulk biochemical experiments, the research team has shown that the genome-editing ability of Cas9 is made possible by the presence of short DNA sequences known as “PAM,” for protospacer adjacent motif. (more…)

Programmable DNA Scissors Found for Bacterial Immune System

By Guest PostJuly 2, 2012Sciencearchaeon microbe, artificial enzyme, bacteria, bacterial immune system, berkeley lab, cas9 protein, crispr, crispr loci, crrna guide sequence, crrna molecule, dna scissors, double rna structure, eukaryotic organism, foreign dna, fungi, genetic element, genetic engineers, genomics researchers, hhmi, human cell, ines fonfara, jennifer doudna, krzysztof chylinski, martin jinek, michael hauer, tracrrna

Discovery Could Lead to Editing Tool for Genomes

Genetic engineers and genomics researchers should welcome the news from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) where an international team of scientists has discovered a new and possibly more effective means of editing genomes. This discovery holds potentially big implications for advanced biofuels and therapeutic drugs, as genetically modified microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, are expected to play a key role in the green chemistry production of these and other valuable chemical products.

Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division and professor at the University of California (UC) Berkeley, helped lead the team that identified a double-RNA structure responsible for directing a bacterial protein to cleave foreign DNA at specific nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, the research team found that it is possible to program the protein with a single RNA to enable cleavage of essentially any DNA sequence. (more…)

Tag Archives: bacterial immune system

New Insight into an Emerging Genome-Editing Tool

Puzzling Question in Bacterial Immune System Answered

Programmable DNA Scissors Found for Bacterial Immune System