CRISPR technology for diagnosis and treatment of human brucellosis

The global burden of Brucella infection in livestock and human health is substantial, particularly in developing countries or rural areas. Currently, brucellosis diagnosis primarily relies on PCR, microbiological culture, and serological tests. However, these approaches have several drawbacks such as long experimental duration, lengthy procedure, low positive detection rates, high variability in results, interspecies cross-reactivity, and require expensive equipment and professional operators. Herein, we review how recent emerging CRISPR/Dx technology can address some of these shortcomings to realize field-deployable detection of Brucella in domestic animals and point-of-care testing (POCT) for human brucellosis. CRISPR technology has been successfully used to treat brucellosis by deleting or inactivating the genes associated with the Brucella replication or survival. Therefore, we also discuss how CRISPR technology can be potentially used to treat brucellosis, as antibiotic therapy may lose efficacy when encountering multidrug-resistant Brucella strains and the treatment is long-lasting in infected individuals to prevent relapse. Lastly, we critically discuss the advances, pitfalls, and future perspectives of CRISPR technology for the diagnosis and treatment of brucellosis in humans and livestock. Ultimately, the continued refinement of CRISPR technology will pave the road for field-deployable pathogen diagnostics and home self-tests of brucellosis to mitigate global Brucella infections.