Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42106677›Full record

ArticleBMC biotechnology2026

PAM-flexible SpCas9 variants expand the targeting scope for porcine genome editing and cellular disease modeling.

Zhiwei Peng, Wenxin Duan, Yuhang Fan, Qiang Yang, Yu Ye, Yuyun Xing

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Zhiwei PengNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
Wenxin DuanNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
Yuhang FanNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
Qiang YangNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
Yu YeNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China.
Yuyun XingNational Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China. xingyuyun9@hotmail.com.

Funding

National Key Reaearch and Development Program of China 2023YFC3404302National Natural Science Foundation of China 32260825
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCRISPR-Cas-mediated gene editing has revolutionized life sciences, yet the targeting scope of the widely used SpCas9 is limited by its strict requirement for the NGG protospacer adjacent motif (PAM). To overcome this limitation, PAM-flexible SpCas9 variants have been developed and characterized in multiple species; however, their potential in pigs (an important biomedical model for humans) remains unexplored. Here, we systematically evaluated the editing performance of three PAM-flexible SpCas9 variants (SpRY, SpG, and SpCas9-NG) and their derived base editors in porcine fetal fibroblasts (PFFs).

resultsProfiling across 228 target sites revealed that SpRY exhibits nearly PAM-less activity, with significantly higher editing efficiency at NRN (15.82%, R = A/G) than at NYN PAMs (5.75%, Y = C/T). SpG and SpCas9-NG preferentially targeted NGN PAMs, achieving mean efficiencies of 14.81% and 16.33%, respectively. PAM‑flexible cytosine base editors (CBEs) mediated efficient C:G‑to‑T:A conversion, with mean efficiencies of 12.01% for SpRY‑BE4max (NNN PAMs), 15.43% for SpG‑BE4max (NGN PAMs), and 18.39% for SpCas9‑NG‑BE4max (NGN PAMs). Similarly, PAM‑flexible adenine base editors (ABEs) mediated efficient A:T‑to‑G:C conversion, with mean efficiencies of 15.66% for SpRY‑ABE8e (NNN PAMs), 24.16% for SpG‑ABE8e (NGN PAMs), and 20.50% for SpCas9‑NG‑ABE8e (NGN PAMs). By exploiting this expanded targeting scope, we successfully introduced 16 pathogenic single‑nucleotide variants (SNVs) at NRN PAM sites in the porcine genome, with editing efficiencies reaching up to 40.68% for CBEs and 61.76% for ABEs.

conclusionsPAM-flexible SpCas9 variants and their derived base editors greatly expand the targeting scope for porcine genome engineering, thereby substantially broadening the applicability potential of CRISPR-Cas-mediated genome editing tools in porcine genetic improvement and disease model generation.

Indexed as

CRISPR-Associated Protein 9CRISPR-Cas SystemsGene EditingAnimalsFibroblastsGenomeSwineCRISPR-Associated Protein 9Base editingCRISPR-Cas9PAM-flexiblePorcine fetal fibroblastsSpCas9-NGSpGSpRY

Identifiers

PMID42106677
PMCPMC13326552

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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.