ArticleeLife2020
CRISPR-Cas12a exploits R-loop asymmetry to form double-strand breaks.
Article in eLife, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed.
- Strategies and mechanisms of precision genome engineering: From gene editing to genome writing.iMetaOmics · 2026Review
- Stepwise DNA-unwinding gates TnpB genome-editing activity.Molecular cell · 2026Article
- Molecular mechanisms and biotechnology applications of CRISPR-Cas12a.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
- Biophysical characterization ofSensors & diagnostics · 2026Article
- Bridge helix of Cas12a is an allosteric regulator of R-loop formation and RuvC activation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Stepwise DNA unwinding gates TnpB genome-editing activity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Nuc domain electrostatics drive the trans cleavage activity of CRISPR-Cas12a.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Evaluating high-fidelity CRISPR-Cas nucleases in nucleosomal contexts using a quantitative framework.Frontiers in genome editing · 2026Article
- Amplification-Free Dual-Blocking Autocatalytic CRISPR-Cascade for Atto-Molar DNA Detection with Low Nonspecific Signal.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Amplification-free cancer diagnosis based on inhibition of Cas12a activity by site-specific 5mC-modified cfDNA.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Noncanonical target-strand cytosine base editing via engineered Un1Cas12f1 platform.Nature communications · 2025Article
- And… cut! - how conformational regulation of CRISPR-Cas effectors directs nuclease activity.The Biochemical journal · 2025Review
- Rapid CRISPR-Cas9 target-strand nicking can provide phage resistance by reducing DNA abundance.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- CRISPR-Cas12a REC2-Nuc interactions drive target-strand cleavage and constrain trans cleavage.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Advancements and Applications of Split Technology in CRISPR/Cas12a: Transforming Molecular Diagnostics and Biosensing.Biosensors · 2025Review
- AsCas12a tolerates insertions in target DNA.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Rapid two-step target capture ensures efficient CRISPR-Cas9-guided genome editing.Molecular cell · 2025Article
- Engineered CRISPR-Cas12a for higher-order combinatorial chromatin perturbations.Nature biotechnology · 2025Article
- PAM-adjacent DNA flexibility tunes CRISPR-Cas12a off-target binding.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- CRISPR-Cas12a bends DNA to destabilize base pairs during target interrogation.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Type V CRISPR-Cas interference proteins use a single RuvC active site to make RNA-guided breaks in double-stranded DNA substrates, an activity essential for both bacterial immunity and genome editing. The best-studied of these enzymes, Cas12a, initiates DNA cutting by forming a 20-nucleotide R-loop in which the guide RNA displaces one strand of a double-helical DNA substrate, positioning the DNase active site for first-strand cleavage. However, crystal structures and biochemical data have not explained how the second strand is cut to complete the double-strand break. Here, we detect intrinsic instability in DNA flanking the RNA-3' side of R-loops, which Cas12a can exploit to expose second-strand DNA for cutting. Interestingly, DNA flanking the RNA-5' side of R-loops is not intrinsically unstable. This asymmetry in R-loop structure may explain the uniformity of guide RNA architecture and the single-active-site cleavage mechanism that are fundamental features of all type V CRISPR-Cas systems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.