Researchers from Braunschweig describe new possibilities of
the CRISPR-Cas-system
Viruses cannot only cause illnesses in humans, they also
infect bacteria. Those protect themselves with a kind of ‘immune system’ which
– simply put – consists of specific sequences in the genetic material of the
bacteria and a suitable enzyme. It detects foreign DNA, which may originate
from a virus, cuts it up and thus makes the invaders harmless. Scientists from
the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have now
shown that the dual-RNA guided enzyme Cas9 which is involved in the process has
developed independently in various strains of bacteria. This enhances the
potential of exploiting the bacterial immune system for genome engineering.