Review Article

Novel Epigenetic Techniques Provided by the CRISPR/Cas9 System

Figure 1

DNA methylation and demethylation mediated by Cas9. DNA sequences are represented by the blue lines. PAM sequences are highlighted by red color. Guide RNA sequences are shown in purple color. DNA polymerase II (PoI II) is represented by the green irregular shape. The circled “me” represents methylation at a specific CpG site. Basically, dCas9 functions as a DNA-binding protein. DNMT3A or TET is the epieffector. The dCas9-epieffector complex is guided to the DNA target by guide RNA via Watson-Crick base pairing to execute (a) DNA methylation or (b) demethylation, thus inducing decreased or increased gene expression.
(a)
(b)