Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40075056›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Insights into the compact CRISPR-Cas9d system.

Jie Yang, Tongyao Wang, Ying Huang, Zhaoyi Long, Xuzichao Li, Shuqin Zhang, Lingling Zhang, Zhikun Liu, Qian Zhang, Huabing Sun and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Compact 9dBEs Enable Efficient and Precise Genome Editing in Mammalian Cells and In Vivo.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Structural visualization of the molecular evolution of CRISPR-Cas9.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Expanding the CRISPR/Cas toolkit: applications in proteomics and theranostics.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025
    Review
  12. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Jie Yang *State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4399-2532
Tongyao Wang *State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4640-1594
Ying Huang *Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Biomolecular Assembling and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Zhaoyi Long *State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Xuzichao LiState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Shuqin ZhangState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Lingling ZhangState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Zhikun LiuState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Qian ZhangState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Huabing SunTianjin Key Laboratory on Technologies Enabling Development of Clinical Therapeutics and Diagnostics, Department of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5924-9738
Minjie ZhangDepartment of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Hang YinDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Zhongmin LiuShenzhen Key Laboratory of Biomolecular Assembling and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. liuzm@sustech.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3280-3890
Heng ZhangState Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. zhangheng134@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1112-7149

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cas9d, the smallest known member of the Cas9 family, employs a compact domain architecture for effective target cleavage. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we present the cryo-EM structures of the Cas9d-sgRNA complex in both target-free and target-bound states. Biochemical assays elucidated the PAM recognition and DNA cleavage mechanisms of Cas9d. Structural comparisons revealed that at least 17 base pairs in the guide-target heteroduplex is required for nuclease activity. Beyond its typical role as an adaptor between Cas9 enzymes and targets, the sgRNA also provides structural support and functional regulation for Cas9d. A segment of the sgRNA scaffold interacts with the REC domain to form a functional target recognition module. Upon target binding, this module undergoes a coordinated conformational rearrangement, enabling heteroduplex propagation and facilitating nuclease activity. This hybrid functional module precisely monitors heteroduplex complementarity, resulting in a lower mismatch tolerance compared to SpyCas9. Moreover, structure-guided engineering in both the sgRNA and Cas9d protein led to a more compact Cas9 system with well-maintained nuclease activity. Altogether, our findings provide insights into the target recognition and cleavage mechanisms of Cas9d and shed light on the development of high-fidelity mini-CRISPR tools.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsCRISPR-Associated Protein 9CRISPR-Cas SystemsRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsCryoelectron MicroscopyDNADNA CleavageGene EditingHumansModels, MolecularBacterial ProteinsCRISPR-Associated Protein 9DNARNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems

Identifiers

PMID40075056
PMCPMC11903963

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.