A Cryo-EM map of a Fanzor protein (gray, yellow, light blue, and pink) in complex with wRNA (purple) and its target DNA (red). Non-target DNA strand in blue. (Courtesy of the Zhang lab)
Meet ‘Fanzor,’ a cousin of CRISPR and Feng Zhang’s new gene editing tool
Microbes have lost their monopoly as the sole source of new enzymes that can be easily programmed to make precise edits to the genome.
Two independent teams, both led by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unveiled new gene editing tools on Wednesday based on proteins called “Fanzors” that are found in eukaryotes, a broad branch on the tree of life that includes algae, fungi, plants, and animals.
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