Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41814095›Full record

ArticleNature biotechnology2026

Engineered TnpB genome editors for plants and human cells identified by ribonucleoprotein mutational scanning.

Brittney W Thornton, Rachel F Weissman, Jorge E Rodriguez, Ryan V Tran, Brenda T Duong, Cynthia I Terrace, Ugrappa Nagalakshmi, George Austin, Evan D Groover, Flora Zhiqi Wang and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing 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

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Virus-induced transgene- and tissue culture-free heritable genome editing in tomato.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. 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

17 authors.

Brittney W Thornton *Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-5615-2853
Rachel F Weissman *Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1806-6564
Jorge E RodriguezDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3177-2586
Ryan V TranDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-4648-7785
Brenda T DuongDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5529-8508
Cynthia I TerraceDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1578-9000
Ugrappa NagalakshmiDepartment of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
George AustinInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Evan D GrooverInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9737-1796
Flora Zhiqi WangInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-2874-0942
Jung-Un ParkDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0269-7142
Viktoriya GeorgievaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5843-726X
Julia TartagliaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Myeong-Je ChoInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Savithramma P Dinesh-KumarInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5738-316X
Jennifer A DoudnaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9161-999X
David F SavageDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. savage@berkeley.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0042-2257

Funding

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
Function, evolution and engineering of proteinsR35GM158173 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI David Frank Savage · 2025 to 2026
$724k
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.) 1R35GM158173National Science Foundation (NSF) 2334028National Science Foundation (NSF) DGE 2146752National Science Foundation (NSF) IOS-2303522NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM158173U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) U01AI142817
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

TnpB is a diverse family of RNA-guided endonucleases associated with prokaryotic transposons. Because of their small size and putative evolutionary relationship to CRISPR-Cas12, TnpB enzymes hold great potential for genome editing. However, most TnpBs lack robust gene-editing activity. Here, we mapped comprehensive sequence-function landscapes of a TnpB ribonucleoprotein using deep mutational scanning and we discovered activating mutations in both the RNA and the protein. Leveraging the protein's mutational landscape, we constructed a combinatorial library of activating mutations, from which we identified two enhanced TnpB variants. These variants increased editing in human cells, Nicotania benthamiana, pepper and rice. While editing efficiencies varied by target site, engineered variants achieved up to 55% insertion and deletion frequencies (a 50-fold increase over wild type) in N. benthamiana, surpassing ISYmu1 (<7%), AsCas12f-HKRA (<9%) and other compact editors. These findings highlight elements critical for regulating TnpB endonuclease activity and demonstrate latent activity accessible through mutation.

Identifiers

PMID41814095

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.