Article 2: CRISPR-Cas12a target binding unleashes indiscriminate single-stranded DNase activity Abstract CRISPR-Cas12a (Cpf1) proteins are RNA-guided enzymes

Article 2: CRISPR-Cas12a target binding unleashes indiscriminate single-stranded DNase activity Abstract CRISPR-Cas12a (Cpf1) proteins are RNA-guided enzymes that bind and cut DNA as components of bacterial adaptive immune systems. Like CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12a has been harnessed for genome editing based on its ability to generate targeted, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) breaks. Here we show that RNA-guided DNA binding unleashes indiscriminate single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) cleavage activity by Cas12a that completely degrades ssDNA molecules. We find that target-activated, non-specific ssDNase cleavage is also a property of other type V CRISPR-Cas12 enzymes. By combining Cas12a ssDNase activation with isothermal amplification, we create a method termed DNA Endonuclease Targeted CRISPR Trans Reporter (DETECTR), which achieves attomolar sensitivity for DNA detection. DETECTR enables rapid and specific detection of human papillomavirus in patient samples, thereby providing a simple platform for molecular diagnostics. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/02/14/science.aar6245 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/02/14/scien...