The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, for their discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors that have revolutionized genome editing (1). While studying Streptococcus pyogenes, Charpentier discovered that a molecule called tracrRNA was part of bacteria's ancient immune system, CRISPR/Cas, that cleaves viral DNA (2). Meanwhile, Doudna was deciphering the structure and biologic function of RNA enzymes and recognized the RNA-based surveillance system in bacteria (3). When they met at a scientific meeting in 2011, Charpentier and Doudna had a eureka moment, realizing that jointly, they could harness the RNA-based complex to develop a novel gene editing system. Through a series of experiments published in 2012 (4), they were the first to define an in vitro CRISPR/Cas9 system that not only could cut viral DNA but also could be programmed with an engineered guide RNA to cut any DNA at a sequencespecific site (Figure 1). Just as the discovery of restriction enzymes in the 1960s paved the way to an era of recombinant DNA technology, the CRISPR/Cas9 discoveries of Charpentier and Doudna have revolutionized our genome editing toolbox. In less than a decade, the applications of this powerful technology have exploded worldwide and have already led to ...
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