Research Project
9656525
Project Summary CRISPR-based technologies have revolutionized biochemical and biomedical research. In the past few years, many CRISPR systems have been discovered and characterized. These CRISPR systems greatly expand the CRISPR toolkit. Cas13b is the most recently identified CRISPR system. The usefulness of the Cas13b system as a gene editing tool has been demonstrated in human cells. Cas13b system can be exploited to achieve not only RNA knockdown, but also highly specific and efficient RNA editing. The RNA editing ability of the Cas13b-based technology has been used for the correction of human disease relevant mutations. Despite the rapid progresses of Cas13b research, little is known about the structures and catalytic mechanisms of this important family of CRISPR enzymes. The overall goal of this proposed study is to fill this knowledge gap. A cross-disciplinary research approach is employed in the study. Methods from the fields of bioinformatics, biochemistry, structural biology, and molecular & cellular biology are used to characterize the Cas13b CRISPR systems. Results from the study will reveal the molecular basis of the enzymatic reactions catalyzed by Cas13b enzymes. The gained knowledge will benefit further development of Cas13b CRISPR tools for basic research, diagnostic, and medical applications.
