a programmable dual-rna-guided dna endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity ?
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Naomi Ingram
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Certainly! What you’re referring to is a fascinating system called CRISPR-Cas9, which is found in bacteria and serves as a sort of immune system against invading viruses. Let’s break it down in simpler terms.
CRISPR stands for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats,” which are specific sequences in the bacterial genome. Cas9 is a protein that acts like a pair of molecular scissors, cutting the DNA of invading viruses that have been previously encountered by the bacterium.
Now, the “dual-RNA-guided” part means that CRISPR-Cas9 uses two small RNA molecules to guide Cas9 to the target DNA sequence, where it makes a cut. This system is programmable because scientists can design these guide RNA molecules to match specific DNA sequences they want to target.
So, in essence, CRISPR-Cas9 is a programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease, meaning it’s a tool bacteria use to precisely cut and disable the DNA of viruses they’ve encountered before, essentially providing immunity against future infections. It’s like a molecular-level security system for bacteria!