Download MendeleyStructural mechanism of programmable gene integration by the R2 retrotransposon coupled with CRISPR-Cas9.
Komatsu, D., Hiraizumi, M., Fell, C.W., Fujimatsu, K., Nagahata, N., Yamada, S., Sapkota, S., Ramani, H., Arya, B., Shibata, M., Yamashita, K., Gootenberg, J.S., Abudayyeh, O.O., Nishimasu, H.(2026) Nat Struct Mol Biol
- PubMed: 42951937 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-026-01903-7
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
9UCX, 9UCY, 9UCZ, 9UD0, 9UD1 - PubMed Abstract:
R2 retroelements are non-long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons that primarily insert into 28S ribosomal DNA loci across diverse eukaryotes. R2 elements home to their target sites through target-primed reverse transcription (TPRT), in which the R2 protein recognizes and nicks the target DNA to prime reverse transcription using an R2-encoding RNA as the template. The avian R2 system from Taeniopygia guttata (R2Tg) can insert a payload sequence within an RNA template into 28S ribosomal DNA loci in human cells. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of the R2Tg-template RNA-target DNA complex in the TPRT initiation state, both alone and bound to a Cas9-guide RNA complex. These structures provide mechanistic insights into R2Tg-mediated TPRT in its natural context and in the programmable gene integration system STITCHR (site-specific target-primed insertion through targeted CRISPR homing of retroelements). Furthermore, we combine these structural insights with computational protein design methods to engineer an enhanced STITCHR system.
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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