CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique and its application in site-directed genome modification of animals.

CRISPR/Cas system, which uses CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) to guide Cas nuclease to silence invading nucleic acids, is self-defense system against exogenous virus or plasmid in bacteria and archaea. Through molecular modification, the typeⅡCRISPR/Cas system has become a highly efficient site-directed genome editing technique, which is simpler than zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs) and easier to be designed and applied. In this review, we summarize the evolutionary history of CRISPR/Cas9 system, the working principle and modification process of type Ⅱ CRISPR/Cas and its application in animal genome modification.