Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40133266›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Dynamic basis of supercoiling-dependent DNA interrogation by Cas12a via R-loop intermediates.

Kevin D P Aris, Joshua C Cofsky, Honglue Shi, Noor Al-Sayyad, Ivan E Ivanov, Ashwin Balaji, Jennifer A Doudna, Zev Bryant

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 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. SDS-CRISPR for Single-Nucleotide Variant Detection.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  4. Stepwise DNA unwinding gates TnpB genome-editing activity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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

8 authors.

Kevin D P ArisBiophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Joshua C CofskyDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5403-8555
Honglue ShiHoward Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3847-1652
Noor Al-SayyadDepartment of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ivan E IvanovDepartment of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6389-0213
Ashwin BalajiBiophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0075-4203
Jennifer A DoudnaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9161-999X
Zev BryantDepartment of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. zevry@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6751-3693

Funding

Structural Dynamics and Mechanochemical Coupling in Nucleoprotein MachinesR01GM106159 · NIGMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Zev Bryant · 2014 to 2026
$3.2M
Expanding CRISPR-Cas editing technology through exploration of novel Cas proteins and DNA repair systemsU01AI142817 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI BANFIELD, JILLIAN, DOUDNA, JENNIFER A · 2018 to 2022
$2.0M
Multimodal Single-molecule Analysis of DNA Interrogation by Cas9 and Cas12a: Examining the relationship between mismatches, DNA supercoiling, and conformational dynamicsF31GM145173 · NIGMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ARIS, KEVIN · 2022 to 2023
$79k
NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI142817NIGMS NIH HHS F31 GM145173NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM106159U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) R01GM106159
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The sequence specificity and programmability of DNA binding and cleavage have enabled widespread applications of CRISPR-Cas12a in genetic engineering. As an RNA-guided CRISPR endonuclease, Cas12a engages a 20-base pair (bp) DNA segment by forming a three-stranded R-loop structure in which the guide RNA hybridizes to the DNA target. Here we use single-molecule torque spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics and mechanics of R-loop formation of two widely used Cas12a orthologs at base-pair resolution. We directly observe kinetic intermediates corresponding to a ~5 bp initial RNA-DNA hybridization and a ~17 bp intermediate preceding R-loop completion, followed by transient DNA unwinding that extends beyond the 20 bp R-loop. The complex multistate landscape of R-loop formation is ortholog-dependent and shaped by target sequence, mismatches, and DNA supercoiling. A four-state kinetic model captures essential features of Cas12a R-loop dynamics and provides a biophysical framework for understanding Cas12a activity and specificity.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsCRISPR-Associated ProteinsDNADNA, SuperhelicalEndodeoxyribonucleasesR-Loop StructuresCRISPR-Cas SystemsKineticsRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsBacterial ProteinsCas12a proteinCRISPR-Associated ProteinsDNADNA, SuperhelicalEndodeoxyribonucleasesRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems

Identifiers

PMID40133266
PMCPMC11937380

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.