News Releases & Research Results Smallest scissors for genome editing - Elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of CRISPR-Cas12f -

The results of research conducted by Graduate Student Satoru Takeda and Professor Osamu Nureki of the Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, and Professor Hiroshi Nishimasu of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo.

• The three-dimensional structure of Cas12f, recently identified as a CRISPR-Cas enzyme that should apply to genome editing, was successfully determined by cryo-electron microscopy.
• Two Cas12f molecules were demonstrated to function through binding to one guide RNA molecule. Furthermore, two Cas12f molecules with different structures and functions form an “asymmetric dimer” for target DNA cleavage.
• The results of this research should deepen the understanding of various CRISPR-Cas enzymes and promote the development of compact genome editing tools.

This project was conducted with the support of the Science and Technology Platform Program for Advanced Biological Medicine by AMED.

The results were published online in Molecular Cell on December 17.

Satoru N. Takeda, et al. Structure of the miniature type V-F CRISPR-Cas effector enzyme Molecular Cell
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.11.0351