CRISPR is a prokaryotic defence system that was adapted as a tool for genome editing and has become one of the most important discoveries of this century. CRISPR-associated endonucleases cleave DNA at precise sites, which are marked by complementary short-guided RNA. The recently developed versions of endonucleases are compatible with a broad range of PAM motifs, have a higher specificity and enable a specific nucleotide to be replaced.
© 2019 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.