2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Structural and functional analysis of RNA-guided effector nucleases
| Project/Area Number |
18H02384
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 43020:Structural biochemistry-related
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | RNA / タンパク質 / CRISPR / RNAサイレンシング / 立体構造 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
We determined the crystal structure of the PIWI protein from Drosophila melanogaster (Piwi). The structure revealed the molecular mechanism by which Piwi binds piRNA to protect germ cells from transposable elements. In addition, we determined the structures of Cas9 and Cas12 from various organisms, thereby improving our mechanistic understanding of diverse CRISPR-Cas enzymes and paving the way for further development of new genome-editing technologies.
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| Free Research Field |
構造生命科学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
原核生物のCRISPR-Cas獲得免疫機構および真核生物のRNAサイレンシング機構にかかわるRNA依存性ヌクレアーゼ複合体の構造機能解析を推進し、その多様な作動機構の一端を明らかにした。その結果、原核生物および真核生物のもつRNA依存性ヌクレアーゼの類似点および相違点が明らかになった。さらに、本研究の成果はゲノム編集やRNA干渉といった応用技術の開発基盤となることが期待される。
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