The First RNA-guided DNA-cutting enzyme found in Eukaryotes, named Fanzor, could one day be harnessed to edit DNA more precisely than CRISPR/Cas Systems
The first programmable RNA-guided system in eukaryotes has been discovered by a team led by Feng Zhang at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. They published a study introducing Fanzor, a protein that utilizes RNA guidance to precisely target and edit DNA. Unlike CRISPR/Cas systems, Fanzor is more easily delivered. The team isolated Fanzor proteins from various species and demonstrated their ability to cut DNA using non-coding RNAs. Fanzors show promise for genome editing because they are efficient and can cut DNA very precisely without collateral damage. This marks a significant discovery in eukaryotic organisms.
This was honestly very surprising to me even though I don't know much about gene editing and why this is such a big discovery for eukaryotes. It was surprising to hear that something that comes from animals can be more precise at cutting DNA than CRISPR, as well as more easily deliverable. It is just crazy to me that new things are discovered all the time that just make other discoveries seem so complicated and out of date. It's very interesting to think how this is such a big discovery at this time but years later we'll hear about new technology that's even better than this.
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Genome editing still feels like science fiction sometimes, but the introduction of CRISPR and other similar systems placed it in the here and now. The advancement of this editing through this programable RNA guided system (Fanzor) increasing the efficiency of the process is fascinating. And it is true that there will likely be more advancements in the future that makes Fanzor look prehistoric in comparison.
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