Cpf1 Is a Single RNA-Guided Endonuclease of a Class 2 CRISPR-Cas System

The microbial adaptive immune system CRISPR mediates defense against foreign genetic elements through two classes of RNA-guided nuclease effectors. Class 1 effectors utilize multi-protein complexes, whereas class 2 effectors rely on single-component effector proteins such as the well-characterized Cas9. Here, we report characterization of Cpf1, a putative class 2 CRISPR effector. We demonstrate that Cpf1 mediates robust DNA interference with features distinct from Cas9. Cpf1 is a single RNA-guided endonuclease lacking tracrRNA, and it utilizes a T-rich protospacer-adjacent motif. Moreover, Cpf1 cleaves DNA via a staggered DNA double-stranded break. Out of 16 Cpf1-family proteins, we identified two candidate enzymes from Acidaminococcus and Lachnospiraceae, with efficient genome-editing activity in human cells. Identifying this mechanism of interference broadens our understanding of CRISPR-Cas systems and advances their genome editing applications.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Zetsche, Bernd, Gootenberg, Jonathan S., Abudayyeh, Omar O., Slaymaker, Ian M., Makarova, Kira S., Essletzbichler, Patrick, Volz, Sara E., Joung, Julia, van der Oost, John, Regev, Aviv, Koonin, Eugene V., Zhang, Feng
Format:	Article/Letter to editor biblioteca
Language:	English
Subjects:	Life Science,
Online Access:	https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/cpf1-is-a-single-rna-guided-endonuclease-of-a-class-2-crispr-cas-
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