TIGR-Tas: A family of modular RNA-guided DNA-targeting systems in prokaryotes and their viruses.
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| Abstract | RNA-guided systems provide remarkable versatility, enabling diverse biological functions. Through iterative structural and sequence homology-based mining starting with a guide RNA-interaction domain of Cas9, we identified a family of RNA-guided DNA-targeting proteins in phage and parasitic bacteria. Each system consists of a Tandem Interspaced Guide RNA (TIGR) array and a TIGR-associated (Tas) protein containing a Nop domain, sometimes fused to HNH (TasH) or RuvC (TasR) nuclease domains. We show that TIGR arrays are processed into 36-nt RNAs (tigRNAs) that direct sequence-specific DNA binding through a tandem-spacer targeting mechanism. TasR can be reprogrammed for precise DNA cleavage, including in human cells. The structure of TasR reveals striking similarities to box C/D snoRNPs and IS110 RNA-guided transposases, providing insights into the evolution of diverse RNA-guided systems. |
| Year of Publication | 2025
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| Journal | Science (New York, N.Y.)
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| Pages | eadv9789
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| Date Published | 02/2025
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| ISSN | 1095-9203
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| DOI | 10.1126/science.adv9789
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| PubMed ID | 40014690
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