9H4K | pdb_00009h4k

dCas9 bound to off-target 1 EMX1-1 (-)SC DNA minicircle

• PDB DOI: https://doi.org/10.2210/pdb9H4K/pdb
• NAKB: 9H4K
• EM Map EMD-51862: EMDB EMDataResource

• Classification: HYDROLASE
• Organism(s): Streptococcus pyogenes, synthetic construct
• Expression System: Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)
• Mutation(s): Yes 


• Deposited: 2024-10-20 Released: 2026-04-01 
• Deposition Author(s): Smith, Q.M., Rueda, D.
• Funding Organization(s): Medical Research Council (MRC, United Kingdom)

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Experimental Data Snapshot

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 2.60 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

Literature

Structural basis of supercoiling-induced CRISPR-Cas9 off-target activity.

Smith, Q.M., Whittle, S., Aramayo, R.J., Rollins, D.E., Jalal, A.S.B., Egharevba, D.I., Morris, K.L., Pyne, A.L.B., Rueda, D.S.

(2026) Nature 653: 627-635

• PubMed: 41882360 
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10255-7
• Primary Citation Related Structures: 
  9H4J, 9H4K, 9H4L, 9H4M


• PubMed Abstract: 
  

  CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful genome-editing tool ¹ , but genome-wide off-target activity can hinder therapeutic applications. Negative supercoiling ((-)SC) has been implicated in off-target activity, but a molecular-level understanding is lacking. Here, using (-)SC DNA minicircles, we observe supercoiling-driven structural defects in the DNA that are resolved by Cas9 binding. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of Cas9 bound in both the on-target and off-target configurations highlight that the Cas9 HNH domain is poised in a more catalytically competent conformation. New DNA-RNA mismatch geometries are accommodated across the protospacer and structural plasticity in the protospacer adjacent motif distal region of the protospacer is topology dependent. Together, our study reveals the molecular basis for (-)SC-induced Cas9 targeting and provides a framework for the design of next-generation high-fidelity CRISPR effectors with topological context.

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Organizational Affiliation: 
• MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Wellcome Genome Campus, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, UK.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. [e-mail].
MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK. [e-mail].
Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK. [e-mail].

Biological Assembly 1  

Global Symmetry: Asymmetric - C1 
Global Stoichiometry: Monomer - A1 

Biological assembly 1 assigned by authors and generated by (software)

Biological Assembly Evidence: electron microscopy

Macromolecule Content 

• Total Structure Weight: 203.78 kDa 
• Atom Count: 11,455 
• Modeled Residue Count: 1,170 
• Deposited Residue Count: 1,510 
• Unique protein chains: 1
• Unique nucleic acid chains: 3

Macromolecules

Entity ID: 1
Molecule	Chains	Sequence Length	Organism	Details	Image
CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9/Csn1	A	1,368	Streptococcus pyogenes	Mutation(s): 2  Gene Names: cas9, csn1, SPy_1046 EC: 3.1
UniProt
Find proteins for Q99ZW2 (Streptococcus pyogenes serotype M1) Explore Q99ZW2  Go to UniProtKB:  Q99ZW2

Entity ID: 2
Molecule	Chains	Length	Organism	Image
EMX1-1 sgRNA	B	98	synthetic construct

Entity ID: 3
Molecule	Chains	Length	Organism	Image
Target Strand	C	31	synthetic construct

Entity ID: 4
Molecule	Chains	Length	Organism	Image
Non-Target Strand	D	13	synthetic construct

Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

• Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
• Resolution: 2.60 Å
• Aggregation State: PARTICLE 
• Reconstruction Method: SINGLE PARTICLE 

EM Software:

Task	Software Package	Version
MODEL REFINEMENT	PHENIX	1.20.1_4487:

Structure Validation

Entry History 

& Funding Information

Deposition Data

• Released Date: 2026-04-01 
Deposition Author(s): Smith, Q.M., Rueda, D.

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Funding Organization	Location	Grant Number
Medical Research Council (MRC, United Kingdom)	United Kingdom	UKRI MC-A658-5TY10

Revision History  

• Version 1.0: 2026-04-01
  Type: Initial release
  
• Version 1.1: 2026-04-08
  Changes: Data collection, Database references
• Version 1.2: 2026-05-27
  Changes: Data collection, Database references