The definitive guide to gene editing.
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The CRISPR Atlas

Technologies

Every way scientists currently change, silence or rewrite genetic material — how each one works, what it can and cannot do.

17 technologies in the Atlas. Each page opens with a simple explanation, then a technical one.

17 shown

Nuclease editing CRISPR-Cas9A protein that can be programmed with a short RNA guide to find one specific sequence in a genome and cut it. Precision editing Base EditingChemically converts one DNA letter into another at a chosen position, without cutting both strands of the… Precision editing Prime EditingWrites a new stretch of DNA sequence directly into a chosen site, using a guide that carries the replacement… Nuclease editing CRISPR-Cas12A family of CRISPR nucleases that cut DNA leaving staggered ends, use a different sequence requirement from… RNA targeting CRISPR-Cas13Targets RNA rather than DNA, so it can silence a gene's message without touching the genome itself. Nuclease editing Cas14 and miniature Cas systemsUnusually small CRISPR nucleases — roughly a third the size of Cas9 — discovered in archaea and… RNA targeting RNA EditingChanges letters in the RNA message rather than in the DNA, so the effect is real but temporary and the genome… Gene regulation Epigenetic EditingChanges how loudly a gene is expressed by rewriting the chemical marks on and around it, without altering a… Gene regulation CRISPRa (gene activation)Uses a disabled CRISPR protein to switch a gene up rather than to cut it. Gene regulation CRISPRi (gene silencing)Parks a disabled CRISPR protein on a gene to block it from being read, turning it down without changing it. Earlier generation TALENsCustom-built proteins that recognise DNA letter by letter and cut — the technique CRISPR largely displaced… Earlier generation Zinc Finger NucleasesThe first programmable gene-editing tool to reach patients — small, engineered proteins that grip DNA in… Large-cargo editing Recombinases and integrasesEnzymes that cut and rejoin DNA at defined sites, able to insert whole genes rather than edit single letters. Large-cargo editing TransposasesEnzymes that cut a segment of DNA out of one place and paste it into another — nature's own copy-and-paste. Related approach Gene Therapy (gene addition)Delivers a working copy of a gene into cells without changing the existing genome — the older approach that… RNA targeting RNA InterferenceUses the cell's own machinery to destroy a specific RNA message, lowering a protein's level without touching… Related approach Synthetic BiologyDesigning genetic parts and circuits so that cells perform new functions — the engineering discipline that…