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Structural biology

The synchronized catalytic dance of CRISPR-Cas9

Nature Catalysis volume 6, pages 870–872 (2023)Cite this article

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a major gene-editing tool that has attracted tremendous interdisciplinary efforts to ameliorate precise genome manipulation. Now, the pivotal structural features behind concerted double-stranded DNA cleavages by the Cas9 endonuclease have been captured through cryo-electron microscopy, laying the groundwork for improved Cas9 engineering.

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Fig. 1: Conformational changes of RuvC and HNH for the catalysis in CRISPR-Cas9.

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  1. Twitter / X: @palermo_lab

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, The University of California, Riverside, California, USA

    Aakash Saha, Chinmai Pindi & Giulia Palermo

  2. Department of Chemistry, The University of California, Riverside, California, USA

    Giulia Palermo

Authors
  1. Aakash Saha
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  2. Chinmai Pindi
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  3. Giulia Palermo
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Correspondence to Giulia Palermo.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Saha, A., Pindi, C. & Palermo, G. The synchronized catalytic dance of CRISPR-Cas9. Nat Catal 6, 870–872 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-023-01043-x

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