Structures and mechanisms of CRISPR RNA-guided effector nucleases

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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Substrate Generation for Endonucleases of CRISPR/Cas Systems
11:53

Substrate Generation for Endonucleases of CRISPR/Cas Systems

Published on: September 8, 2012

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Hiroshi Nishimasu1, Osamu Nureki2

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan; JST, PRESTO, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.

Current Opinion in Structural Biology
|December 3, 2016
PubMed

Insights

CRISPR-Cas systems use crRNA-guided effector complexes (crRNPs) to destroy invading DNA. Recent structural studies reveal conserved mechanisms for target recognition and cleavage across diverse CRISPR-Cas nucleases.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas systems provide adaptive immunity against genetic elements.
  • CRISPR RNA (crRNA) assembles with Cas proteins into crRNA ribonucleoprotein (crRNP) effector complexes.
  • These crRNPs are responsible for recognizing and destroying foreign nucleic acids.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent progress in understanding the structure and mechanisms of diverse crRNP effector nucleases.
  • To highlight conserved principles in crRNA-guided target interference.
  • To provide an atomic view of CRISPR-Cas interference mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent structural and mechanistic studies on CRISPR-Cas systems.
  • Analysis of diverse crRNP effector complexes.
  • Focus on atomic-level insights into target recognition and cleavage.

Main Results:

  • CRISPR-Cas effector mechanisms, while diverse, share conserved basic action principles.
  • crRNA segments (repeat-derived and spacer-derived) are recognized by Cas proteins.
  • Spacer-derived segments guide target binding via base pairing.

Conclusions:

  • Intensive research has provided atomic-level understanding of crRNA-guided target interference.
  • Diverse CRISPR-Cas nucleases operate via conserved crRNA-guided mechanisms.
  • Structural and mechanistic insights continue to advance the field of CRISPR-Cas biology.

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