Nucleic acid detection with CRISPR-Cas13a/C2c2

Jonathan S. Gootenberg, Omar O. Abudayyeh, Jeong Wook Lee, Patrick Essletzbichler, Aaron J. Dy, Julia Joung, Vanessa Verdine, Nina Donghia, Nichole M. Daringer, Catherine A. Freije, Cameron Myhrvold, Roby P. Bhattacharyya, Jonathan Livny, Aviv Regev, Eugene V. Koonin, Deborah T. Hung, Pardis C. Sabeti, James J. Collins, Feng Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1858 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rapid, inexpensive, and sensitive nucleic acid detection may aid point-of-care pathogen detection, genotyping, and disease monitoring. The RNA-guided, RNA-targeting clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) effector Cas13a (previously known as C2c2) exhibits a "collateral effect" of promiscuous ribonuclease activity upon target recognition. We combine the collateral effect of Cas13a with isothermal amplification to establish a CRISPR-based diagnostic (CRISPR-Dx), providing rapid DNA or RNA detection with attomolar sensitivity and single-base mismatch specificity. We use this Cas13a-based molecular detection platform, termed Specific High-Sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter UnLOCKing (SHERLOCK), to detect specific strains of Zika and Dengue virus, distinguish pathogenic bacteria, genotype human DNA, and identify mutations in cell-free tumor DNA. Furthermore, SHERLOCK reaction reagents can be lyophilized for cold-chain independence and long-term storage and be readily reconstituted on paper for field applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)438-442
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume356
Issue number6336
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 28 2017
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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