Reversing the Central Dogma: RNA-guided control of DNA in epigenetics and genome editing

Howard Y Chang; Lei S Qi

doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2023.01.010

Reversing the Central Dogma: RNA-guided control of DNA in epigenetics and genome editing

Mol Cell. 2023 Feb 2;83(3):442-451. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.01.010.

Authors

Howard Y Chang¹, Lei S Qi²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Personal Dynamic Regulome, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: howchang@stanford.edu.
² Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. Electronic address: slqi@stanford.edu.

Abstract

The Central Dogma of the flow of genetic information is arguably the crowning achievement of 20^th century molecular biology. Reversing the flow of information from RNA to DNA or chromatin has come to the fore in recent years, from the convergence of fundamental discoveries and synthetic biology. Inspired by the example of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in mammalian genomes that direct chromatin modifications and gene expression, synthetic biologists have repurposed prokaryotic RNA-guided genome defense systems such as CRISPR to edit eukaryotic genomes and epigenomes. Here we explore the parallels of these two fields and highlight opportunities for synergy and future breakthroughs.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
CRISPR-Cas Systems / genetics
Chromatin / genetics
DNA / genetics
Epigenesis, Genetic
Gene Editing*
Mammals / metabolism
RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics

Substances

DNA
Chromatin
RNA, Long Noncoding

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding