Since the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas system as the adaptive immune system of prokaryotes, the underlying mechanism has proven to be a precise molecular tool for the targeted editing of genetic information in various cell types. By using the CRISPR-Cas9 system DNA sequences can be cut out at any site in the genome and changed in a sequence-specific manner. In the long term this provides the opportunity to cure diseases caused by gene mutations.
Keywords: CRISPR-Cas9; Gene mutations; Genome; Immune system; Prokaryotes.