The Mystery of CRISPR-Cas
The CRISPR-Cas system has been a recent subject of study for the previous twenty years, with a increased interest in the past few years for biomedical applications utilizing the Class II system, which exploits a relatively simple process to enact DNA or RNA cleavage of desired targets. The CRISPR system relies on an array of repeats and spacers to identify previous viral threats, the spacers primarily being segments of foreign genetic material stored in between highly conserved repeat sequences created by the cell. The Class II system, in general, universally involves one enzyme that is responsible for recognizing three to five base pair PAM sequences and cutting foreign targets. The primary protein of interest thus far has been Cas-9, which can cut double stranded DNA with a very high efficiency and specificity, but other similar Cas proteins exist. Alternatively, the Class I system has been understudied due to the complexity of the system in comparison to the Clas...