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Recent research has suggested that Staphylococcus epidermidis is a reservoir of genes that, after horizontal transfer, facilitate the potential of Staphylococcus aureus to colonize, survive during infection, or resist antibiotic treatment, traits that are notably manifest in methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA). S. aureus is a dangerous human pathogen and notorious for acquiring antibiotic resistance...
The Cas9 endonuclease is the central component of the Type II CRISPR/Cas system, a prokaryotic adaptive restriction system against invading nucleic acids, such as those originating from bacteriophages and plasmids. Recently, this RNA‐directed DNA endonuclease has been harnessed to target DNA sequences of interest. Here, we review the development of Cas9 as an important tool to not only edit the genomes...
Recent findings have provided evidence for the existence of non‐vertebrate acquired immunity. We survey these findings and propose that all living organisms must express both innate and acquired immunity. This is opposed to the paradigm that only vertebrates manifest the two forms of immune mechanism; other species are thought to use innate immunity alone. We suggest new definitions of innate and...
Genome‐wide identification of transcription factor binding sites with the ChIP‐seq method is an extremely important scientific endeavor − one that should ideally be performed for every transcription factor in as many cell types as possible. A major hurdle on the way to this goal is the necessity for a specific, ChIP‐grade antibody for each transcription factor of interest, which is often not available...
RNA molecules are flexible yet foldable. Proteins must cope with this structural duality when forming biologically active complexes with RNA. Recent studies of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPRs)‐mediated RNA immunity illustrate some remarkable mechanisms with which proteins interact with RNA. Currently known structures of CRISPR‐Cas6 endoribonucleases bound with...
Gene drives are selfish genetic elements that use a variety of mechanisms to ensure they are transmitted to subsequent generations at greater than expected frequencies. Synthetic gene drives based on the clustered regularly interspersed palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genome editing system have been proposed as a way to alter the genetic characteristics of natural populations of organisms relevant to...
Recent waves of controversies surrounding genetic engineering have spilled into popular science in Twitter battles between reputable scientists and their followers. Here, a cautionary perspective on the possible blind spots and risks of CRISPR and related biotechnologies is presented, focusing in particular on the stochastic nature of cellular control processes.
Exploration of immune systems in prokaryotes, such as restriction‐modification or CRISPR‐Cas, shows that both innate and adaptive systems possess programmed cell death (PCD) potential. The key outstanding question is how the immune systems sense and “predict” infection outcomes to “decide” whether to fight the pathogen or induce PCD. There is a striking parallel between this life‐or‐death decision...
The versatile clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system has emerged as a promising technology for therapy and molecular diagnosis. It is especially suited for overcoming viral infections outbreaks, since their effective control relies on an efficient treatment, but also on a fast diagnosis to prevent disease dissemination. The CRISPR toolbox offers DNA‐ and RNA‐targeting...
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