Bacterial Nanotechnology

editorial Bacterial nanotechnology The 2018 Kavli Prize recognizes scientists working in the feld of basic biology and reminds us of the importance of fundamental research for uncovering the technologies of the future.

he Kavli Prize was established in 2008 The beauty, and power, of the technique embryos, strict regulations should be put by philanthropist and physicist Fred resides in its relatively straightforward in place to draw lines that define what can TKavli, and is awarded every two years programmability and versatility, which be done, and what should never be done by the Kavli Foundation, in association makes it more accessible but also raises with the technology. Indeed, a few years ago with the Norwegian Academy of Science questions about lack of regulations on its several scientists signed a moratorium to and Letters, to researchers working in the use. While other gene editing techniques promote continuous discussion on the ethics areas of nanoscience, neuroscience and require laborious protein engineering involved in gene editing and to demand that astrophysics. The biographies and careers efforts to adapt the system to different certain CRISPR–Cas lines of investigation of the previous awardees of the Kavli Prize gene sequences, in CRISPR–Cas9 the be paused until the system and its pitfalls in Nanoscience, physicists and chemists information regarding its specificity are are better elucidated and the regulatory who have devoted their lives to manipulate encoded in the guide RNA, which can apparatus catches up with research with matter and light at the nanoscale, tell a story be easily programmed to recognize any appropriate guidelines and safety measures. that is quintessentially nanotechnological. stretch of DNA. These characteristics have As the ethical debate continues and With its roots in bacterial biology, this converted CRISPR–Cas9 into the molecular the number of patents exploiting this year’s Nanoscience Kavli award appears to biology workhorse in labs worldwide, as, for technology increases, some scientists are depart slightly from the previous ones. This example, it allows the investigation of gene going back to the bench to figure out more year’s prize invokes a tale of microscopic function or the creation of specific animal about the basics of the system. In particular, invasion and resistance, of a battle taking models at a fraction of the time required by researchers want to know how the system place at the nanoscale between bacteria old-school protocols, speeding up research has evolved, as well as understand its off- and virus, and of human curiosity and at unimaginable rates. A sustained growth target effects and how to limit them. Some inventiveness to understand first and to in the number of scientific publications in researchers have upgraded it to a yet more harness then the tools used in this battle. the field has occurred since 2012, and new precise cutting device, engineering Cas9 The 2018 Kavli Prize winners are Jennifer biotech and ‘gene programming’ companies proteins that can edit a gene at the level of a Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier and delivering CRISPR kits or CRISPR-modified single base3 (the so called base editors), and Virginijus Šikšnys, a structural biologist, a cell lines on demand have mushroomed. others have tweaked it for molecular biology microbiologist and a biochemist, for their The promises of the new system are great. applications that go beyond gene editing4. work on CRISPR–Cas9. In medicine, for example, it might allow Moreover, different CRISPR–Cas systems As for every scientific discovery, the one correction of faulty genes in otherwise have been identified, with distinct substrate of the CRISPR–Cas9 bacterial system is incurable genetic diseases, and the first preferences and functions. Recently, three the result of the collective feat of numerous ex vivo genome editing clinical trials have different groups have demonstrated the scientists that spanned almost 30 years already started in China for cancer treatment application of CRISPR–Cas12 and CRISPR– of research. These efforts showed that and will start in Europe and the United States Cas13 systems for detection of viral DNA at CRISPR–Cas9 represents a general immune for β-thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia. extremely high sensitivities, a property that system used by bacteria to fight off a viral The technology might revolutionize other could lead to the engineering of low-cost attack. Bacteria integrate pieces of viral DNA fields as well. In agriculture, CRISPR–Cas9 portable devices for detection of infectious in their genomes after they are invaded, might deliver crops more resistant to adverse diseases in resource-limited settings5–7. building a memory of the event that triggers conditions, and in energy it might lead The example of CRISPR–Cas shows that the CRISPR–Cas9 machinery in successive to genetically engineered organisms for investing in basic science to understand invasions. For a long time, however, the increased production of biofuels. In the field the inner workings of the natural world is molecular mechanism of how the system of infectious diseases, the technology might key to developing new solutions to human worked remained obscure. It was only in facilitate gene drive, a technique that aims at struggles. Nature is a trove of potential 2012, in two seminal independent papers controlling the number of pathogen-carrying technologies — it’s up to the persistent and published a short time apart1,2, that the organisms by spreading genome alteration in creative mind of man to find them, and to winners of this year’s Kavli prize described a population. For example, scientists seek to harness them responsibly. ❐ how Cas9 nuclease, guided by two RNA apply this technology to slash the population molecules that could be artificially fused of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, but together, identifies specific DNA sequences there are worries about the effect that this Published online: 6 June 2018 from invading species and cleaves them. might have on the ecosystem. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0177-0 Subsequent work from other groups showed The application of CRISPR–Cas9 as a that the CRISPR–Cas9 system could be human genome editing tool poses serious References 1. Jinek, M. et al. Science 337, 816–821 (2012). used to cut a DNA sequence of choice in social and ethical concerns among the 2. Gasiunas, G., Barrangou, R., Horvath, P. & Siksnys, V. Proc. Natl eukaryotic cells as well. At this point the scientific community, as its intentional Acad. Sci. USA 109, E2579–E2586 (2012). scientific community fully realized that at its or unintentional misuse and the advent 3. Gaudelli, N. M. et al. Nature 551, 464–471 (2017). 4. Adli, M. Nat. Commun. 9, 1911 (2018). disposal was a genome editing technology of possible private interests could lead to 5. Chen, J. et al. Science 360, 436–439 (2018). that could be exploited in a variety of disruptive and dire consequences. Since the 6. Gootenberg, J. S. Science 360, 439–444 (2018). applications. methodology can be used to modify human 7. Myhrvold, C. et al. Science 360, 444–448 (2018).