Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40790018›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Structural insights into Type II-D Cas9 and its robust cleavage activity.

Kangkang Wang, Jiuyu Wang, Xiaoqi Yang, Wei Sun, Gang Sheng, Yanli Wang

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 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Compact 9dBEs Enable Efficient and Precise Genome Editing in Mammalian Cells and In Vivo.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Structural visualization of the molecular evolution of CRISPR-Cas9.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026
    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

6 authors.

Kangkang WangState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8985-2952
Jiuyu WangState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-7842
Xiaoqi YangState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-0409-2301
Wei SunState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1352-3284
Gang ShengState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yanli WangState Key Laboratory of RNA Innovation, Science and Engineering, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. ylwang@ibp.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5969-1745

Funding

Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission Z231100007223004Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) XDB0570000, XDB37010202National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32330055, 31930065, 22121003, 32071198, 32071444Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality (Beijing Natural Science Foundation) 5232022
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Type II-D Cas9 proteins (Cas9d) are more compact than typical Type II-A/B/C Cas9s. Here, we demonstrate that NsCas9d from Nitrospirae bacterium RBG_13_39_12 derived from a metagenomic assembly exhibits robust dsDNA cleavage activity comparable to SpCas9 in vitro. Unlike typical Cas9 enzymes that generate blunt ends, NsCas9d produces 3-nucleotide staggered overhangs. Our high-resolution cryo-EM structure of the NsCas9d-sgRNA-dsDNA complex in its catalytic state reveals the target and non-target DNA strands positioned within the HNH and RuvC catalytic pockets, respectively. NsCas9d recognizes the 5'-NRG-3' protospacer adjacent motif (PAM), with 5'-NGG-3' showing the highest cleavage efficiency. Its sgRNA structure, resembling the 5' end of IscB ωRNA, along with structural features shared with other Cas9 variants, suggests that Cas9d are hypothesized to resemble evolutionary intermediates between other Cas9 sub-types and IscB. These findings deepen our understanding of Cas9 evolution and mechanisms, highlighting NsCas9d as a promising genome-editing tool due to its compact size, DNA cleavage pattern, and efficient PAM recognition.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsCRISPR-Associated Protein 9Catalytic DomainCRISPR-Cas SystemsCryoelectron MicroscopyDNADNA CleavageGene EditingRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsBacterial ProteinsCRISPR-Associated Protein 9DNARNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems

Identifiers

PMID40790018
PMCPMC12339737

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.