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Genome editing

The domestication of Cas9

Nature volume 529, pages 468–469 (2016)Cite this article

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The enzyme Cas9 is used in genome editing to cut selected DNA sequences, but it also creates breaks at off-target sites. Protein engineering has now been used to make Cas9 enzymes that have minimal off-target effects. See Article p.490

For the past 30,000 years, humans have been genetically engineering the wolf through selective breeding, preserving some forms of genes and eliminating others to produce the dog. Now, two studies (one on page 490 of this issue1 and one in Science2) have used genetic engineering to tame a different type of wild creature — a nuclease enzyme called Cas9. In doing so, they have markedly reduced the enzyme's undesirable natural tendencies, but have preserved its ability to cut DNA in an RNA-guided manner. This feat of molecular domestication is great news for practitioners of genome editing, in which DNA sequences in cells or organisms are changed to scientists' specifications efficiently and accurately; such precise editing requires highly targetable nucleases3.

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Figure 1: Taming a wild enzyme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fyodor Urnov is at Sangamo BioSciences, Richmond, California 94804, USA.,

    Fyodor Urnov

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  1. Fyodor Urnov
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Correspondence to Fyodor Urnov.

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The author declares competing financial interests: F.U. is a full-time employee of Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.

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Urnov, F. The domestication of Cas9. Nature 529, 468–469 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/529468a

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