A chemical-inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system for rapid control of genome editing

Kaiwen Ivy Liu, Muhammad Nadzim Bin Ramli, Cheok Wei Ariel Woo, Yuanming Wang, Tianyun Zhao, Xiujun Zhang, Guo Rong Daniel Yim, Bao Yi Chong, Ali Gowher, Mervyn Zi Hao Chua, Jonathan Jung, Jia Hui Jane Lee, Meng How Tan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

162 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as a powerful technology that enables ready modification of the mammalian genome. The ability to modulate Cas9 activity can reduce off-target cleavage and facilitate precise genome engineering. Here we report the development of a Cas9 variant whose activity can be switched on and off in human cells with 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-HT) by fusing the Cas9 enzyme with the hormone-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (ERT2). The final optimized variant, termed iCas, showed low endonuclease activity without 4-HT but high editing efficiency at multiple loci with the chemical. We also tuned the duration and concentration of 4-HT treatment to reduce off-target genome modification. Additionally, we benchmarked iCas against other chemical-inducible methods and found that it had the fastest on rate and that its activity could be toggled on and off repeatedly. Collectively, these results highlight the utility of iCas for rapid and reversible control of genome-editing function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)980-987
Number of pages8
JournalNature Chemical Biology
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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