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MINI REVIEW article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Synthetic Biology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1552030
Cyanobacterial Type I CRISPR-Cas Systems: Distribution, Mechanisms, and Genome Editing Applications
Provisionally accepted- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
Cyanobacteria, renowned for their photosynthetic capabilities, serve as efficient microbial chassis capable of converting carbon dioxide into a spectrum of biochemicals. However, conventional genetic manipulation strategies have proven incompatible with the precise and systematic modifications required in the field of cyanobacterial synthetic biology. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of endogenous CRISPR-Cas systems within cyanobacterial genomes, with a particular focus on the Type I systems, which are the most widely distributed. We provide a comprehensive summary of the reported DNA defense mechanisms mediated by cyanobacterial Type I CRISPR-Cas systems and their current applications in genome editing. Furthermore, we offer insights into the future applications of these systems in the context of cyanobacterial genome editing, underscoring their potential to revolutionize synthetic biology approaches.
Keywords: Type I CRISPR-Cas, cyanobacterium, Genome editing, Synthetic Biology, Metabolic Engineering
Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 10 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Yang, Zheng and Tan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yongjiu Zhang, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
Shuxiao Yang, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
Xianliang Zheng, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
Xiaoming Tan, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China
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