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Scientists in Boston have come up with a twist on an important method for “editing” genomes that could give researchers added control over the DNA of living things and influence a raging patent dispute over the powerful techniques.
Feng Zhang, a researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, reported today in the journal Cell that he had developed a replacement for a key component of the genome-engineering system commonly known as CRISPR-Cas9.
The gene-editing technology, which snips DNA at precise locations, has swept through science labs because it provides a versatile, potent way to engineer the DNA of bacteria, plants, and humans. It is allowing scientists to broadly reimagine how they study everything from Alzheimer’s disease to biotech crops.
The work by Zhang’s team, carried out this year, shows that the cutting protein Cas9 can be replaced by a different protein, Cpf1, which he says will also work as a versatile editing tool. In a carefully crafted press release, Broad chief Eric Lander said the system “represents a new generation of genome editing technology” that...