CRISPR/Cas系统：RNA靶向的基因组定向编辑新技术

CRISPR/Cas系统广泛存在于细菌及古生菌中, 是机体长期进化形成的RNA指导的降解入侵病毒或噬菌体DNA的适应性免疫系统。对Ⅱ型CRISPR/Cas系统的改造使其成为继锌指核酸酶(ZFNs)和TALE核酸酶(TALENs)以来的另一种对基因组进行高效定点修饰的新技术, 与ZFNs和TALENs相比, CRISPR/Cas系统更简单, 并且更容易操作。文章重点介绍了Ⅱ型CRISPR/Cas系统的基本结构、作用原理及这一技术在基因组定点修饰中的应用, 剖析了该技术可能存在的问题, 展望了CRISPR/Cas系统的应用前景, 为开展这一领域的研究工作提供参考。     

CRISPR/Cas9:基因编辑的新时代

基因编辑技术是通过核酸内切酶对基因组DNA进行定向改造的技术,可以实现对特定DNA碱基的缺失、替换等,常用的四种基因编辑工具分别是:巨型核酸酶、锌指核酸酶、转录激活因子样效应物核酸酶以及CRISPR/Cas9系统。其中CRISPR/Cas9系统作为一种新型的基因组编辑技术具有组成简单、特异性好、切割效率高的优点。该文对CRISPR/Cas9系统的结构组成和功能机制,动植物基因靶向编辑和人类在遗传性疾病、病毒感染性疾病以及肿瘤方面进行综述,旨在对CRISPR/Cas9系统的现状和发展进行总结和展望。     

基因编辑新技术最新进展

借助基因编辑技术精准编辑植物基因组,得到性状优良、产量高的农作物种质是目前作物分子育种研究的主要趋势。目前主要的CRISPR/Cas9系统是由产脓链球菌的获得性免疫防御系统改编而来,该系统以其编辑高效、操作方便、成本低廉等明显优势在基因编辑技术中脱颖而出,广受青睐。利用CRISPR/Cas技术编辑作物基因组,能精确引入和改良目标性状,为作物遗传育种提供新途径。当前, CRISPR/Cas9技术在拟南芥、水稻、土豆、玉米等植物中得到普遍应用。该文简要阐述了锌指核酸酶、转录因子激活样效应物核酸酶以及CRISPR/Cas9系统的结构、作用机制及差异,重点综述CRISPR/Cas9系统目前在植物中的应用、其改良的CRISPR/Cpf1技术以及该系统相比于其他核酸酶的优势与局限性。     

新一代精准基因编辑工具CRISPR/Cas9的技术优势与应用局限

CRISPR/Cas9(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9)是继锌指核酸酶(ZFNs)和类转录激活因子效应物核酸酶(TALENs)基因编辑技术之后的第三代基因编辑技术。CRISPR/Cas9在细菌和古生菌中广泛存在,是细菌在长期进化过程中形成的一种"适应性免疫防御",能够针对噬菌体感染、质粒接合和转化所造成的外源导入基因特异性识别、降解入侵的外源DNA,CRISPR/Cas9通过一段20 bp的短RNA来识别打靶位点的精准编辑技术。CRISPR/Cas9具有设计操作简便、编辑高效和通用性广等优点,是新一代具有革命意义的精准基因编辑技术。从CRISPR/Cas9的发现、作用机理、基因编辑以及应用局限等方面进行归纳总结,旨为理解其工作原理和精准基因编辑技术应用提供参考。     

CRISPR/Cas9:一种新型的基因组定点编辑技术

CRISPR/Cas9系统是原核生物抵御病毒或质粒等外来遗传物质入侵的一种获得性免疫系统,主要由非特异性的Cas9核酸酶和起识别作用的cr RNA所组成。相较于传统的基因组编辑技术,基于CRISPR/Cas9系统的基因组定点编辑技术具有快速、简单、高效等优点,并且几乎可以用于任何物种的基因编辑。尽管CRISPR/Cas9系统的基因组特异性还有待进一步确认,但该系统在基因组编辑方面的简便性和有效性必将促进生物学的研究和人类疾病基因治疗方面的发展。     

CRISPR/Cas9的应用及脱靶效应研究进展

CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术在生命科学领域掀起了一场全新的技术革命,该技术可以对基因组特定位点进行靶向编辑,包括缺失、插入、修复等。CRISPR/Cas9比锌指核酸酶 (ZFNs)和转录激活因子样效应物核酸酶(TALENs)技术更易于操作,而且更高效。CRISPR/Cas9系统中的向导RNA(Single guide RNA, sgRNA)是一段与目标DNA片段匹配的RNA序列,指导Cas9蛋白对基因组进行识别。研究发现,设计的sgRNA会与非靶点DNA序列错配,引入非预期的基因突变,即脱靶效应(Off-target effects)。脱靶效应严重制约了CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术的广泛应用。为了避免脱靶效应,研究者对影响脱靶效应的因素进行了系统研究并提出了许多降低脱靶效应的方法。文章总结了CRISPR/Cas9系统的应用及脱靶效应研究进展,以期为相关领域的工作提供参考。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Selection with two alleles and complete dominance

For a plant selection model with frequency-independent viabilities, fertilities and selfing rates, it is shown that apart from global fixation, for certain parameter combinations a protected polymorphism and facultative fixation (either allele may become fixed according to initial frequencies) may both occur. Facultative fixation requires different selling rates for the dominant and recessive type. Protection of the polymorphism requires resource allocation for male and female function. In this connection the problem of purely genetically caused population extinction is discussed.
For general frequency dependence and regular segregation, the chances for establishment of a completely recessive gene are compared to those of a completely dominant gene. It is proven that the process of establishment of the recessive gene, despite a fitness advantage, may be considerably endangered by drift effects if random mating prevails. The recessive gene may reach the same effectivity in establishment as a dominant gene, only if the recessive homozygote mates exclusively with its own type during the period of establishment.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).