RNA-guided gene editing based on the CRISPR-Cas system is currently the most effective genome editing technique. Here, we report that the SviCas3 from the subtype I-B-Svi Cas system in Streptomyces virginiae IBL14 is an RNA-guided and DNA-guided DNA endonuclease suitable for the HDR-directed gene and/or base editing of eukaryotic cell genomes. The genome editing efficiency of SviCas3 guided by DNA is no less than that of SviCas3 guided by RNA. In particular, t-DNA, as a template and a guide, does not require a proto-spacer-adjacent motif, demonstrating that CRISPR, as the basis for crRNA design, is not required for the SviCas3-mediated gene and base editing. This discovery will broaden our understanding of enzyme diversity in CRISPR-Cas systems, will provide important tools for the creation and modification of living things and the treatment of human genetic diseases, and will usher in a new era of DNA-guided gene editing and base editing.
Comment: 113 pages, 12 figures and 4 tables