Virus-inspired delivery methods enable gene editing of dysregulated microbes.
Billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes live throughout our bodies — collectively known as our microbiome. These microscopic communities often coexist peacefully with human cells, even helping carry out key bodily processes. But when they go rogue, they can promote conditions ranging from Crohn’s disease to acne.
Genome editing can provide a new toolkit to treat these diseases — but not by editing human cells. Instead, scientists are now using molecular scalpels like CRISPR to edit the genomes of microbes that wreak havoc within the human body.
“It is ironic that even though genome-editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9 were invented by bacteria, they’ve been used most efficiently in mammalian cells,” said Peter Turnbaugh, a…