CRISPR History: Discovery, Characterization, and Prosperity

CRISPR research is a very young research field since it was only 10years ago when the system was found to confer antiviral defense. Nevertheless, there has been an explosion of publications in CRISPR research in the past 5years. The research was started with the comparative genomics of microbial genomes early this century, which revealed the prevalence of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) in bacteria and archaea. Series of hypotheses were made based on bioinformatics analyses and tested experimentally within a few years after the CRISPR acronym was coined. These findings have not only led to the discovery of the unique antiviral system and the involved molecular mechanisms, but also to the development of CRISPR technology with various well-developed applications, such as genome editing in all three domains of life. Currently, widespread research efforts in multiple research disciplines have constantly yielded new insights into molecular mechanisms of CRISPR antiviral immunity, and new applications in scientific research and biomedical applications. Retrospectively, it is worth pointing out that close interdisciplinary interactions have fostered series of discoveries in the CRISPR research and worked as the driving force in the fast developing research field.