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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms

Published on: May 25, 2018

Biological action in Read-Write genome evolution.

James A Shapiro¹

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, GCISW123B, 979 E. 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Interface Focus

|August 26, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

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Evolutionary innovations arise from complex cellular processes like symbiogenesis and hybridization, altering genome content and expression. These mechanisms, including horizontal DNA transfer, drive adaptive variation and biological complexity, especially in non-coding DNA.

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Genomics
Cell Biology

Background:

Major evolutionary changes, including new species formation and adaptations, stem from alterations in genome content and expression.
Key evolutionary events involve symbiogenesis (e.g., mitochondria, chloroplasts) and hybridization with genome doubling.
Horizontal DNA transfer and natural genetic engineering also contribute to adaptive variation by modifying regulatory networks.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the complex cellular activities that drive evolutionary variation and the origin of new taxa.
To highlight the role of non-coding DNA and non-coding RNAs in biological complexity and adaptation.
To establish a foundation for understanding how ecological disruptions can trigger evolutionary transformations.

Main Methods:

Keywords:

horizontal DNA transfer hybrid speciation mobile DNA network rewiring non-coding RNA regulation symbiogenesis

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Review and synthesis of existing research on symbiogenesis, hybridization, horizontal DNA transfer, and mobile DNA elements.
Analysis of the relationship between genome content (coding vs. non-coding DNA) and biological complexity in multicellular organisms.
Examination of the regulatory functions of non-coding RNAs derived from mobile DNA sequences.

Main Results:

Symbiogenetic cell mergers and interspecific hybridization/genome doubling are fundamental to eukaryotic and plant/animal evolution, respectively.
Horizontal DNA transfers and natural genetic engineering reshape regulatory networks, enabling novel adaptations like mammalian viviparity.
Biological complexity in advanced organisms correlates with non-coding DNA content, with non-coding RNAs regulating key phenotypes such as stem cell pluripotency.

Conclusions:

Cell fusion, horizontal DNA transfer, and natural genetic engineering of genomes provide a robust framework for understanding rapid evolutionary change.
Ecological disruptions can act as catalysts for productive and abrupt evolutionary transformations through these molecular and biological mechanisms.
The interplay between genome content, non-coding DNA, and regulatory RNAs is crucial for generating evolutionary novelty and adaptation.