以CasX为例简述新型CRISPR-Cas系统的基本属性和研究方法

Basic properties and research methods of a new CRISPR-Cas system: CasX as an example

摘要:

在细菌与古菌中广泛存在的CRISPR-Cas系统，作为目前发现的原核生物唯一的适应性免疫系统，抵御着病毒和质粒的入侵。自20世纪80年代首次被发现至今，CRISPR-Cas系统的基本情况逐渐清晰，包括名称缩写、分类、进化关系等方面。近年来，由于第二类CRISPR-Cas系统作为一种有潜力的基因编辑工具而逐渐成为应用研究被关注，对CRISPR-Cas系统的基础研究热度也持久不衰。为了使此类基因编辑工具在实际应用领域更加安全便捷，针对已发现的CRISPR-Cas系统在根据基础研究领域的成果进行优化的同时，对新型CRISPR-Cas系统的发掘工作也同等重要。本文以2017年发现的CasX为例，简要概述针对一种新发现的CRISPR-Cas系统需要研究确定的基本属性及相关研究方法。

Abstract:

CRISPR-Cas systems that are widely presented in bacteria and archaea, as the only adaptive immune system found in prokaryotes so far, resist the invasion of viruses and plasmids. Since the 1980s, several basic aspects of CRISPR-Cas systems have gradually become clear, including acronym, classification, and evolutionary relationships. Last decade, class II CRISPR-Cas systems, whose effector complexes have a simple architecture, have been attractive for developing a new generation of genome editing technologies. In order to make such gene editing tools safer and more convenient in practical applications, it is equally important to discover new CRISPR-Cas systems while optimizing discovered CRISPR-Cas systems through breakthroughs in the basic research area. This article takes CasX discovered in 2017 as an example, to outline the basic properties for a new type or subtype of CRISPR-Cas system and accompanying research methods.