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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Substrate Generation for Endonucleases of CRISPR/Cas Systems
Published on: September 8, 2012
[An history of the CRISPR-Cas systems discovery]
1Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France.
Abstract:
From 1987 and during the following 20 years, a few research teams exploring bacteria and archea genome sequences uncover the prokaryotic adaptative immune system made of the CRISPR sequence and associated cas genes. First believed to be similar to the eukaryote RNA interference system, CRISPR-Cas turned out to be unique and of an amazing genetic complexity. The comparative studies of CRISPR arrays and of cas, and later of microbiotes metagenomes allowed to propose an evolution scenario for these systems. The results demonstrate the importance of a naturalistic approach, without a priori, for the understanding of living organisms.
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