Enhanced genome editing with a Streptococcus equinus Cas9

Abstract A large number of SpCas9 orthologs has been computationally identified, but their genome editing potential remains largely unknown. In this study, a GFP-activation assay was used to screen a panel of 18 SpCas9 orthologs, ten of which demonstrated activity in human cells. Notably, these orth...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jingtong Liu, Yao Wang, Jingjing Wei, Shengzhou Wang, Miaomiao Li, Zheyong Huang, Sufang Zhang, Huihui Liu, Jinhai Huang, Yongming Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Communications Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07593-z
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Summary:Abstract A large number of SpCas9 orthologs has been computationally identified, but their genome editing potential remains largely unknown. In this study, a GFP-activation assay was used to screen a panel of 18 SpCas9 orthologs, ten of which demonstrated activity in human cells. Notably, these orthologs had a preference for purine-rich PAM sequences. Four of the tested orthologs displayed enhanced specificity compared to SpCas9. Of particular interest is SeqCas9, which recognizes a simple NNG PAM and displays activity and specificity comparable to SpCas9-HF1. In addition, SeqCas9 exhibits superior base editing efficiency compared to SpCas9-NG and SpCas9-NRRH at multiple endogenous loci. This research sheds light on the diversity of SpCas9 orthologs and their potential for specific and efficient genome editing, especially in cases involving base editing.
ISSN:2399-3642