CRISPR / Cas9 3D model

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) Type II system is a bacterial immune system that has been modified for genome engineering (see CRISPR history). Prior to CRISPR/Cas9, genome engineering approaches, like zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) or transcription-activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), relied upon the use of customizable DNA-binding protein nucleases that required scientists to design and generate a new nuclease-pair for every genomic target. Largely due to its simplicity and adaptability, CRISPR has rapidly become one of the most popular approaches for genome engineering. From Addgene.