| abstract |
The present invention discloses a novel bacterial nuclease of the CRISPR-Cas9 system derived from the bacterium Clostridium cellulolyticum and its use to form double-strand breaks strictly specific for DNA molecules. This nuclease has unique properties and can be used as a tool to introduce modifications at tightly defined positions in the genomic DNA sequence of unicellular or multicellular organisms. Thus, the diversity of available CRISPR-Cas9 systems will be increased, allowing the use of Cas9 nucleases from a variety of organisms to cleave genomic or plasmid DNA at multiple specific sites and at wider temperature ranges. In addition, the genome of the biotechnologically important bacterium Clostridium cellulolyticum can be more easily edited. |