RNA targeting with CRISPR-Cas13
This study characterized the class 2 type VI CRISPR effector Cas13a (formerly C2c2) as a programmable RNA-targeting tool in mammalian and plant cells. A catalytically inactive Cas13a (dCas13a) was used for RNA binding while active Cas13a enabled efficient, specific knockdown of endogenous transcripts. The authors showed RNA knockdown comparable to or more specific than RNA interference and demonstrated applications such as transcript tracking and splicing modulation.