On the ever‐growing functional versatility of the CRISPR‐Cas13 system

Abstract

CRISPR‐Cas systems evolved in prokaryotes to implement a powerful antiviral immune response as a result of sequence‐specific targeting by ribonucleoproteins. One of such systems consists of an RNA‐guided RNA endonuclease, known as CRISPR‐Cas13. In very recent years, this system is being repurposed in different ways in order to decipher and engineer gene expression programmes. Here, we discuss the functional versatility of the CRISPR‐Cas13 system, which includes the ability for RNA silencing, RNA editing, RNA tracking, nucleic acid detection and translation regulation. This functional palette makes the CRISPR‐Cas13 system a relevant tool in the broad field of systems and synthetic biology.