- Researchers at HIRI have developed a new method called PUMA for detecting RNA using Cas12 nucleases from CRISPR-Cas systems.
- This method overcomes limitations of traditional Cas12-based technologies by reprogramming tracrRNAs to guide Cas12 to DNA targets without requiring a specific recognition sequence.
- PUMA allows for the detection of RNA biomarkers, including those specific to RNA viruses, without the need for a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM).
- The team demonstrated the method’s potential by identifying bacterial pathogens associated with acute sepsis using a single reprogrammed tracrRNA.
- PUMA has the potential for various medical applications, including identifying viral or bacterial pathogens and detecting cancer biomarkers with high accuracy and efficiency.
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Infectious Diseases,hIV/AIDS,Pathology & Lab Medicine