Target specificity of the CRISPR-Cas9 system

Xuebing Wu; Andrea J Kriz; Phillip A Sharp

doi:10.1007/s40484-014-0030-x

Target specificity of the CRISPR-Cas9 system

Quant Biol. 2014 Jun;2(2):59-70. doi: 10.1007/s40484-014-0030-x.

Authors

Xuebing Wu¹, Andrea J Kriz², Phillip A Sharp³

Affiliations

¹ David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; Computational and Systems Biology Graduate Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
² Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³ David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Abstract

The CRISPR-Cas9 system, naturally a defense mechanism in prokaryotes, has been repurposed as an RNA-guided DNA targeting platform. It has been widely used for genome editing and transcriptome modulation, and has shown great promise in correcting mutations in human genetic diseases. Off-target effects are a critical issue for all of these applications. Here we review the current status on the target specificity of the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

Keywords: CRISPR; Cas9; genome engineering; off-targets; target specificity.

Abstract

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