Bridge helix of CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9
Cas9-BH is the bridge helix between the NUC and the REC lobes of Cas9 - the CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9. The REC lobe and the NUC lobe of Cas9 fold to present a positively charged groove at their interface which accommodates the negatively charged sgRNA:target DNA heteroduplex. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas system occurs naturally in bacteria as a defence against invasion by phages or other mobile genetic elements. Cas9 is targeted to specific genomic locations by sgRNAs or single guide RNAs, in order to complex with invading DNA in order to cleave it and render it inactive.
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