International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review A Consensus Model of Homology-Directed Repair Initiated by CRISPR/Cas Activity Kevin Bloh 1,2 and Natalia Rivera-Torres 1,* 1 Gene Editing Institute, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, ChristianaCare, 4701 Ogletown-Stanton Road, Newark, DE 19710, USA;
[email protected] 2 Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19710, USA * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-302-623-4754 Abstract: The mechanism of action of ssODN-directed gene editing has been a topic of discussion within the field of CRISPR gene editing since its inception. Multiple comparable, but distinct, path- ways have been discovered for DNA repair both with and without a repair template oligonucleotide. We have previously described the ExACT pathway for oligo-driven DNA repair, which consisted of a two-step DNA synthesis-driven repair catalyzed by the simultaneous binding of the repair oligonucleotide (ssODN) upstream and downstream of the double-strand break. In order to better elucidate the mechanism of ExACT-based repair, we have challenged the assumptions of the path- way with those outlines in other similar non-ssODN-based DNA repair mechanisms. This more comprehensive iteration of the ExACT pathway better described the many different ways where DNA repair can occur in the presence of a repair oligonucleotide after CRISPR cleavage, as well as how these previously distinct pathways can overlap and lead to even more unique repair outcomes. Keywords: CRISPR/Cas; homology directed repair; DNA repair; synthesis-dependent strand annealing; gene repair Citation: Bloh, K.; Rivera-Torres, N. A Consensus Model of Homology-Directed Repair Initiated by CRISPR/Cas Activity.