Modularized CRISPR/dCas9 effector toolkit for target-specific gene regulation.

The ability to control mammalian genes in a synergistic mode using synthetic transcription factors is highly desirable in fields of tissue engineering, stem cell reprogramming and fundamental research. In this study, we developed a standardized toolkit utilizing an engineered CRISPR/Cas9 system that enables customizable gene regulation in mammalian cells. The RNA-guided dCas9 protein was implemented as a programmable transcriptional activator or repressor device, including targeting of endogenous loci.

Two distinct old yellow enzymes are involved in naphthyl ring reduction during anaerobic naphthalene degradation.

The 2-naphthoyl-coenzyme A (NCoA) reductase (NCR) is so far the only characterized enzyme involved in the anaerobic degradation of the environmentally relevant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The old yellow enzyme (OYE) family member apparently reduced the nonactivated naphthyl ring to 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-napthoyl-CoA (THNCoA). In this work, the candidate genes of three NCRs from the sulphate-reducing, naphthalene-degrading N47 and NaphS2 cultures were expressed in Escherichia coli.