CRISPR
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Biology
| Stands for | Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
CRISPR stands for Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, a biology abbreviation.
Repeating DNA sequences in bacteria and archaea that store snippets of viral DNA as a genetic memory of past infections, part of a natural immune system. Harnessed with the Cas9 enzyme, the system became a precise, cheap gene-editing tool that can cut DNA at almost any chosen sequence in plants, animals and humans.
Example: Researchers used CRISPR to disable the gene in zebrafish embryos and watch how the heart developed.
Usage notes
Pronounced "crisper." Yoshizumi Ishino's group noticed the odd repeats in E. coli in 1987, and the acronym was coined in 2002 by Ruud Jansen in consultation with Francisco Mojica. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier described programmable Cas9 cutting in 2012 and won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2023 Casgevy, a CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease, became the first approved CRISPR medicine.
Related abbreviations
More biology abbreviations
- BSL – Biosafety level
- CAM – Crassulacean acid metabolism
- cAMP – Cyclic adenosine monophosphate
- Cas9 – CRISPR-associated protein 9
- CFU – Colony-forming unit
- CHO – Chinese hamster ovary (cells)
- cryo-EM – Cryogenic electron microscopy
- DAPI – 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
- DNA – Deoxyribonucleic acid
- dNTP – Deoxynucleoside triphosphate
- EC – Enzyme Commission number
- ECM – Extracellular matrix