The genetic edition system CRISPR/Cas and its use as specific antimicrobial

Abstract

CRISPR/Cas system constitutes a prokaryotic adaptive immune system against the incorporation of exogenous genetic material. This immunity system is mediated by a specific nuclease that breaks invasive DNA and later some particles of the broken DNA are stored to recognize and eliminate similar sequences in the future. Recently, it was found that the system could be reprogrammed to recognize any DNA sequence and it was possible to introduce highly specific genetic editions in a huge number of organisms. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas system has been adapted for the development of a highly specific strategy in the treatment of infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. In this review it was described in a general manner the biological origin of CRISPR/Cas system, the mechanism of genetic edition based on it, the employ of the system in the development of a specific treatment method for bacterial infections, and finally some limitations of the system were discussed.