Ancestors of the 2.6 billion-year-old gene-editing tool CRISPR are resurrected

The prestigious scientific journal Nature Microbiology has published the results of an international research project that has managed to reconstruct, for the first time, the ancestors of the well-known CRISPR-Cas system from 2.6 billion years ago and has studied its evolution over time. The results suggest that the revitalized systems not only work, but are more versatile than current versions and could have revolutionary applications.

“This scientific achievement makes it possible to have gene editing tools with properties different, much more flexible, from the current ones which opens up new paths in the manipulation of DNA and treatment of diseases such as ALS, cancer, diabetes, or even as a tool for disease diagnosis”, explains Ylenia Jabalera, project researcher at nanoGUNE.

The project, directed by the Ikerbasque researcher from CIC nanoGUNE Rául Pérez-Jiménez, includes teams from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Universidad de AlicanteCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), and other state and international institutions.

SOURCE: madri+d