This work describes the identification of Cas13 proteins from two families by mining public metagenomic data. The newly identified Cas13X.1 shows efficient target knockdown and can be used to degrade SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 genomes. In addition, the truncated Cas13X.1 offers an advantage in generating mini-RNA base editors.
- Chunlong Xu
- Yingsi Zhou
- Hui Yang