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

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.