A team of researchers from the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute in Cuttack and from the Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. presented an alternative to Cas9 and Cas12 proteins in the CRISPR gene editing too. The new editor can solve the major problem in plant genome editing.
- ISDra2TnpB: They reported developing a plant genome editor consisting of a protein called ISDra2TnpB, derived from bacteria called Deinococcus radiodurans.
- CRISPR problem: With the help of the gene-editing tool CRISPR, scientists can precisely edit genomes to introduce desirable genetic traits or remove undesirable ones. This system uses one of two proteins, Cas9 or Cas12, to target specific parts of the DNA. But they are too bulky for plant cells to accommodate.
- Features of new editor: SDra2TnpB is less than half the size of Cas9 and Cas12. TnpB is a protein made up of around 400 amino acid units (different combinations of the 20 amino acids make up all proteins).
- Jumping gene feature: SDra2TnpB belongs to a family of transposable elements, or transposons. Sometimes called “jumping genes”, transposons are parts of a genome that can move from one location to another.
- 33.58% editing efficiency: The researchers behind the new study exploited the genome editing abilities of a TnpB-based system to achieve a 33.58% editing efficiency in an average plant genome on targets that Cas9 or Cas12 couldn’t reach.
- DNA’s sequence: The genome consists of two strands of DNA bonded to each other. Each strand is made up of building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide has three pieces; two are common to all of them whereas the identity of the third one can be one of four options: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) or guanine (G). The DNA’s ‘sequence’ refers to the order in which nucleotides containing these four compounds are arranged.
- CRISPR uses: CRISPR holds the potential to revolutionise agriculture in particular by allowing agricultural scientists to increase crop yields and improve resistance to disease and anomalous weather through gene-editing.
(Source: The Hindu)
