Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42752133›Full record

ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2026

A noncontiguous code for RNA-guided DNA recognition at the origin of CRISPR-Cas.

Peter H Yoon, Kenneth J Loi, Zeyuan Terry Zhang, Trevor A Docter, Santiago C Lopez, Conner J Langeberg, Muhammad Moez Ur-Rehman, Kamakshi Vohra, Zehan Zhou, Isabel Esain-Garcia and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Peter H Yoon *Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9156-1393
Kenneth J Loi *Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-5508-6511
Zeyuan Terry ZhangInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-2619-6502
Trevor A DocterDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2647-9649
Santiago C LopezDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7576-2438
Conner J LangebergDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5609-3758
Muhammad Moez Ur-RehmanDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Kamakshi VohraDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Zehan ZhouDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Isabel Esain-GarciaInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1931-4563
Marena I TrinidadInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7839-4642
Honglue ShiDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3847-1652
Ron BogerInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4467-271X
Peter Y WangInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6129-2815
Benjamin A AdlerInnovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7488-3040
Stephen G BrohawnDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6768-3406
Jennifer A DoudnaDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9161-999X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

CRISPR-Cas provides RNA-mediated adaptive immunity, but how its first RNA-guided effector arose is unclear. In this study, we report the discovery of Viral Interference Programmable Repeat (VIPR) systems consisting of a Vipr protein ancestral to the earliest CRISPR-Cas effectors and VIPR RNAs (vrRNAs) comprising alternating GGY/NN motifs. Unlike canonical guide RNAs that pair with target nucleic acids through contiguous complementarity, vrRNAs recognize double-stranded DNA through a noncontiguous code in which the variable NN dinucleotides collectively specify a gapped target sequence. Natural vrRNA targets suggest that VIPR systems act against competing phages, and we demonstrate programmable phage defense by redirecting the complex for transcriptional repression. These results suggest that adaptive immunity originated from ancient warfare between viruses, revealing a previously unidentified logic for encoding information in sequence.

Indexed as

BacteriophagesCRISPR-Cas SystemsDNARNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsRNA, ViralViral InterferenceViral ProteinsBacteriaEvolution, MolecularDNARNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsRNA, ViralViral Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42752133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.