CRISPR–Cas9 in Streptococcus pyogenes prevents self-cleavage through abasic CRISPR RNA oxidations that suppress off-target activity. Inspired by a natural mechanism, Gu and Kim et al. designed chemically modified abasic guide RNAs to enhance genome-editing specificity of SpCas9, suppressing off-target toxicity in in vivo applications.
- Dowoon Gu
- Geun-Woo D. Kim
- Sung Wook Chi