ABSTRACT
A clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system was discovered in 1987 as a defense system in E. coli. This system is used by host bacteria to remove the viral DNA of invading viruses. The bacteria take pieces of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments called CRISPR arrays that enable the bacteria to identify the viruses upon the second attack. CRISPR can be utilized for gene editing in organisms such as bacteria, yeast, plants, animals, and human cell lines. It has the potential to be used for genome editing to cure animal diseases, correcting disease-causing mutations, or inserting new genes with protective functions. CRISPR can be used to make crop pests more susceptible to pesticides and herbicides. It can also be used to improve the disease resistance, expression of valuable nutrients, and quality of crops. CRISPR-Cas is relatively simple, inexpensive, easily programmed, and efficient. The technology has been used to treat natural, parasitic, and vector-borne diseases in both animals and plants. Despite CRISPR systems’ benefits and seemingly limitless applications, ranging from curing genetic diseases to bring back species of organisms that are extinct, there has not been any use of the system in some African countries.
