When you think of CRISPR, the suffix “Cas9” seems immediately to spring to mind. But the Cas9 enzyme isn’t the only endonuclease that could be used therapeutically, according to North Carolina-based Locus Biosciences.
The startup is exploring the use of CRISPR/Cas3 in developing a new line of drugs that kill bacteria and fungi. If Cas9 works like scissors in gene editing, Cas3 is like Pac-Man — it just eats away at DNA. And it looks like it’s got its own unique set of applications. STAT chatted with Locus CEO Paul Garofolo, as well as cofounder Rodolphe Barrangou, who discovered this technology:
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