Building Better DNA Editors: Retrons Raise the Bar for Gene Research

Within bacterial cells, specialized immune systems known as retrons fend off viral attacks. They can also perform precise DNA editing. 

In a new study published in Nature Biotechnology, Seth Shipman, Ph.D., and his team at Gladstone Institutes, greatly expand the universe of retron knowledge. They carried out a “census” of 163 never-before-tested retrons and identified many that can edit DNA more quickly and efficiently than those currently used in research. These findings may have future implications for genome engineering and gene therapies.