O-002 CRISPR-Cas, from a bacterial defense system to a novel genetic tool in humans

Abstract

Abstract In a span of merely a decade, the CRISPR-Cas technology has revolutionized the scientific, industrial, and medical sectors. Its ability to serve as a highly precise genome editing tool has gained a lot of attention over these years, leading to its recognition with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. Amidst these achievements, it is easy to overlook the natural role of the CRISPR-Cas system, which functions as an adaptive immune system against viruses in bacteria. The ongoing exploration and characterization of various variants of these systems continue to pave the way for the development of innovative genetic tools and the enhancement of existing ones. In this presentation, I will start with an explanation of the natural role of CRISPR-Cas in bacteria. This will be followed by a brief overview of how these systems were repurposed into the aforementioned genome editing tools. Subsequently, I will delve into some of the latest advancements (and their bottlenecks) in the field, including a few unconventional applications, and discuss their potential short-term and long-term impacts on human reproduction.