Target search in the CRISPR/Cas9 system: Facilitated diffusion with target cues

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lu, Qiao, Pigolotti, Simone
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Lu, Qiao
Pigolotti, Simone
author_facet Lu, Qiao
Pigolotti, Simone
contents We study how Cas9, a central component of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, searches for a target sequence on the DNA. We propose a model that includes as key ingredients 3D diffusion, 1D sliding along the DNA, and the effect of short binding sequences preceding the target (protospacer adjacent sequences -- PAMs). This latter aspect constitutes the main difference with traditional facilitated diffusion of transcription factors. We solve our model, obtaining an expression for the average search time of Cas9 for its target. We find that experimentally measured kinetic parameters are close to the values yielding an optimal search time. Our results rationalize the role of PAMs in guiding the search process, and show that Cas9 searches for its targets in a nearly optimal way.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_05714
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Target search in the CRISPR/Cas9 system: Facilitated diffusion with target cues
Lu, Qiao
Pigolotti, Simone
Subcellular Processes
Biomolecules
We study how Cas9, a central component of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, searches for a target sequence on the DNA. We propose a model that includes as key ingredients 3D diffusion, 1D sliding along the DNA, and the effect of short binding sequences preceding the target (protospacer adjacent sequences -- PAMs). This latter aspect constitutes the main difference with traditional facilitated diffusion of transcription factors. We solve our model, obtaining an expression for the average search time of Cas9 for its target. We find that experimentally measured kinetic parameters are close to the values yielding an optimal search time. Our results rationalize the role of PAMs in guiding the search process, and show that Cas9 searches for its targets in a nearly optimal way.
title Target search in the CRISPR/Cas9 system: Facilitated diffusion with target cues
topic Subcellular Processes
Biomolecules
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05714