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CRISPR/dCas9 Switch Systems for Temporal Transcriptional Control

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Epigenome Editing

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1767))

Abstract

In a swift revolution, CRISPR/Cas9 has reshaped the means and ease of interrogating biological questions. Particularly, mutants that result in a nuclease-deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) provide scientists with tools to modulate transcription of genomic loci at will by targeting transcriptional effector domains. To interrogate the temporal order of events during transcriptional regulation, rapidly inducible CRISPR/dCas9 systems provide previously unmet molecular tools. In only a few years of time, numerous light and chemical-inducible switches have been applied to CRISPR/dCas9 to generate dCas9 switches. As these inducible switch systems are able to modulate dCas9 directly at the protein level, they rapidly affect dCas9 stability, activity, or target binding and subsequently rapidly influence downstream transcriptional events. Here we review the current state of such biotechnological CRISPR/dCas9 enhancements. Specifically we provide details on their flaws and strengths and on the differences in molecular design between the switch systems. With this we aim to provide a selection guide for researchers with keen interest in rapid temporal control over transcriptional modulation through the CRISPR/dCas9 system.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Max Planck Research Group Leader program and by the German Ministry of Science and Education (BMBF) through the grant E:bio Module III—Xnet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Otto-Warburg-Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany

    Rutger A. F. Gjaltema & Edda G. Schulz

Authors
  1. Rutger A. F. Gjaltema
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  2. Edda G. Schulz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rutger A. F. Gjaltema .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Stuttgart, Germany

    Albert Jeltsch

  2. Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marianne G. Rots

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Gjaltema, R.A.F., Schulz, E.G. (2018). CRISPR/dCas9 Switch Systems for Temporal Transcriptional Control. In: Jeltsch, A., Rots, M. (eds) Epigenome Editing. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1767. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7774-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7774-1_8

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7773-4

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