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Review
. 2020 Feb;43(1):8-17.
doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2019.10.005. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

CRISPR-Cas12a: Functional overview and applications

Bijoya Paul  1 , Guillermo Montoya  2
Affiliations
Review

CRISPR-Cas12a: Functional overview and applications

Bijoya Paul et al. Biomed J. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Prokaryotes have developed an adaptive immune system called Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) to combat attacks by foreign mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids and phages. In the past decade, the widely characterized CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme has been redesigned to trigger a genome editing revolution. Class II type V CRISPR-Cas12a is a new RNA guided endonuclease that has been recently harnessed as an alternative genome editing tool, which is emerging as a powerful molecular scissor to consider in the genome editing application landscape. In this review, we aim to provide a mechanistic insight into the working mechanism of Cas12a, comparing it with Cas9, and eventually provide an overview of its current applications in genome editing and biotechnology applications.

Keywords: CRISPR-Cas12a; Endonuclease recycling; Genome editing; Indiscriminate ssDNAse; RNA guided endonucleases; crRNA biogenesis.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Stages of CRISPR-Cas immunity- Adaptation, Expression/Maturation, Interference.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Domain organisation and R-loop complex of Ca9 and Cas12a.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Model mapping the catalytic pathway of CRISPR-Cas12a.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Cas12a vs Cas9.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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