Question
How does the Cas? system target where it produces a double-strand break in the DNA?
• Aguide RNA molecule is associated with Cas9 and will direct Cas9 to bind at sequences complementary to the guide RNA
• The Cas? protein contains amino acids that can interact with specific sequences in the DNA, targeting Cas9 to those specific sites.
• The Cas9 protein binds to a recombinase, allowing it to disable the gene of interest
• A guide RNA molecule associated with Cas9 provides the catalytic activity to cleave the DNA where Cas9 binds
Answer
Cas9 is targeted to specific sequences in the DNA through a guide RNA molecule, which interacts with amino acids in the Cas9 protein, and then cleaves the DNA where Cas9 binds with the help of a recombinase.