DISCOVERY OF CRISPR
Francisco Mojica was the first researcher to characterize CRISPR locus and also the first to hypothesize that CRISPR is an adaptive immune system.
STREPTOCOCCUS
THERMOPHILUS
DISCOVERY OF
Cas9 & PAM
FRANCISCO MOJICA
OF ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY
EUGENE KOONIN
HYPOTHETICAL SCHEME
"Eugene Koonin declared a hypothetical scheme for CRISPR cascades as bacterial immune system based on inserts homologous to phage DNA in the natural array" (CRISPR Timeline).
JOHN VAN DER OOST
SPACER SEQUENCES
ARE TRANSCRIBED INTO GUIDE RNAs
John van der Oost, with the help of his colleagues, portrayed that spacer sequences are transcribed into tiny RNAs (crRNAs) that lead Cas proteins to the target.
ERIK SONTHEIMER
CRISPR ACTS ON
DNA TARGETS
Luciano Marraffini and Erik Sontheimer revealed that CRISPR targets DNA and not RNA. A different type of CRISPR system targets RNA.
LUCIANO MARRAFFINI
EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER
DISCOVERY
OF tracrRNA
Emmanuelle Charpentier and her group discovered that in addition to crRNA, a second small RNA exists called trascrRNA.
VIRGINIJUS
SIKSNYS
CRISPR SYSTEMS
CAN FUNCTION HETEROLOGOUSLY
Virginijus Siksnys and his colleagues showed that CRISPR-Cas locus was capable of providing plasmid resistance; hence, CRISPR systems are self-contained units.
VIRGINIJUS
SIKSNYS
CHARACTERIZATION
OF Cas9
Virginijus Siksnys and his team showed that Cas9 could be reprogrammed to target a desired site, just by changing the sequence of crRNA.
EMMANUELLE
CHARPENTIER
JENNIFER DOUDNA
crRNA and tracrRNA
COULD BE FUSED TOGETHER
Jennifer Doudna collaborated with Emmanuelle Charpentier and reported that crRNA and tracrRNA can combine and create one synthetic guide.
FENG ZHANG
HARNESSED FOR GENOME EDITING
Feng Zhang was the first to successfully use CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing in eukaryotic cells.
Alexander Bolotin studied the bacteria Streptococcus Thermophilus, which lacked Cas9 and some known cas genes. He also reported that the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM), spacers that share a common sequence, is needed for Cas9 to recognize targets.
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CRISPR-Cas9
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GENE EDITING
LAYLA
PRASHANT
MALI
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH WITH CRISPR
Prashant Mali and his team's goal is to use CRISPR along with biological engineering by combining synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, instrumentation, and materials engineering with CRISPR.
SAVED BABY GIRL FROM DYING
One-year-old Layla, who was diagnosed with leukemia, was saved by genetically engineered immune cells that soon killed all the cancerous cells in her body, confirming that she is now cancer free.
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T I M E L I N E
ALEXIS
KOMOR
Cas9 FUSION PROTEINS
ACT AS BASE EDITORS
Alexis Komor and colleagues were able to develop new Cas9 proteins to act as base editors, making it possible to change cytosine to uracil without cutting DNA
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TO CREATE GENITICALLY MODIFIED BABIES
FIRST SCIENTIST
HE JIANKUI
He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist, claimed to have created the world's first genetically modified babies with the use of CRISPR technology, making a set of twin girls resistant to HIV.