CRISPR

noun

ˈkri-spər 

variants or less commonly Crispr

1

: a segment of genetic material found in the genomes of prokaryotes (such as some bacteria and archaea) that consists of repeated short sequences of nucleotides interspersed at regular intervals between unique sequences of nucleotides derived from the DNA of pathogens (such as viruses) which had previously infected the bacteria and that functions to protect the bacteria against future infection by the same pathogens

Note: The CRISPR segment encodes, via transcription, short RNA sequences that pair with complementary sequences of viral DNA. The pairing is used to guide an enzyme to cleave the viral DNA and prevent further infection.

CRISPR, he learned, was a strange cluster of DNA sequences that could recognize invading viruses, deploy a special enzyme to chop them into pieces, and use the viral shards that remained to form a rudimentary immune system.

—Michael Specter

2

: a gene editing technique in which CRISPR and the RNA segments and enzymes it produces are used to identify and modify specific DNA sequences in the genome of other organisms

Just a few years after its invention, CRISPR gene editing is already having a major impact on biomedical research. It makes it easy to "turn off" genes one at a time, to see what they do. It can introduce specific mutations, to find out why they make cells cancerous or predispose people to diseases. And it can be used to tinker with the genes of plants and animals …

—Michael Le Page

Using CRISPR, they have now disabled four rice genes, suggesting that the technique could be used to engineer this crucial food crop.

—Elizabeth Pennisi

Scientists hope Crispr might also be used for genomic surgery, as it were, to correct errant genes that cause disease.

—Andrew Pollack

Note: The technique is sometimes called CRISPR-Cas9 , which includes the name of the enzyme that cleaves DNA.

… an incredibly fast-paced field in which laboratories around the world have used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genomes of a wide range of cell types and organisms.

—Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

Examples of CRISPR in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The therapy uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR to turn the fetal-hemoglobin gene back on, giving patients more healthy blood cells and potentially curing them of their disease. —TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

In a proof-of-concept study from 2020, researchers used the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR to directly alter a gene involved in heat tolerance. —Emily Anthes Chang W. Lee, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024

The modifications, purportedly made with the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9, were intended to confer immunity to HIV infection. —Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024

Bluebird will be competing for patient attention with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, whose genome-editing treatment for sickle cell won approval the same day as Lyfgenia. —Damian Garde, STAT, 27 Mar. 2024

Related article Great apes tease each other just like humans do, says new study In their experiments, the researchers used CRISPR gene-editing technology to breed mice with the Alu insertion in their TBXT genes. —Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024

Doctors performed the first successful transplant of a pig kidney into a man in Boston last weekend thanks to the CRISPR gene editing technology developed by scientists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024

The list is wide-ranging: from executives and VCs who set their industries’ priorities, to scientists expanding the scope of CRISPR technology, to researchers determined to eliminate racial bias from clinical algorithms. —STAT, 28 Feb. 2024

The bioeconomy is growing almost as rapidly, with thousands of laboratories using CRISPR gene editing tech to amplify biotech’s potential, and synthetic biology is developing fast. —Deborah Wince-Smith, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

First Known Use

2002, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

CRISPR

noun

ˈkris-pər 

variants also Crispr

1

: a segment of genetic material found in the genomes of prokaryotes that consists of repeated short sequences of nucleotides interspersed at regular intervals between unique sequences of nucleotides derived from the DNA of viruses (such as bacteriophages) which had previously infected the prokaryote and that functions to protect the prokaryote against future infection by the same viruses

Note: The CRISPR segment encodes, via transcription, short RNA sequences that pair with complementary sequences of viral DNA. The pairing is used to guide an enzyme to cleave the viral DNA and prevent further infection.

One of the most dramatic examples of short-term genome evolution can be seen in the CRISPR … loci of bacteria and archaea. CRISPRs serve as a defense against invading phages and plasmids, in a manner akin to adaptive immunity.

—David A. Relman, The New England Journal of Medicine

2

: a gene editing technique in which CRISPR and the RNA segments and enzymes it produces are used to identify and modify specific DNA sequences in the genome of other organisms

Gene editing refers to several novel ways to alter the DNA inside living cells. The most popular method, CRISPR, has been revolutionizing scientific research … and is likely to power a new generation of gene treatments for serious diseases.

—Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review

Note: This technique is sometimes called CRISPR-Cas9, which includes the name of the enzyme that cleaves DNA.

CRISPR-Cas9 works by "silencing" the part of the … gene that signals protein production.

—Hanae Armitage, Science