CRISPR/Cpf1-Mediated Multiplex and Large-Fragment Gene Editing in Staphylococcus aureus

ACS Synth Biol. 2022 Sep 16;11(9):3049-3057. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00248. Epub 2022 Aug 24.

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a variety of infections, including life-threatening diseases. Research on S. aureus is constrained by complex and limited genetic manipulation methods. Here, we report a CRISPR/Cpf1-mediated system, pCpfSA, for rapid and versatile genome editing in S. aureus. In direct comparison with the existing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome-editing system, the pCpfSA system exhibits enhanced colony-forming units (CFUs) after editing and an expanded targetable range with comparable editing efficiency. Given the precursor crRNA (pre-crRNA) processing activity of Cpf1, the pCpfSA system also allows multiplex gene editing and large-fragment DNA knockout simply by introducing two crRNAs and the corresponding donor templates, which is difficult to achieve using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, thereby greatly expanding the genome editor toolbox for S. aureus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • CRISPR-Cas Systems / genetics
  • Gene Editing* / methods
  • Humans
  • Staphylococcus aureus* / genetics