Programming T cells for intercellular genome editing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.21.729417v1
Kevin Wasko
@kevinwasko.bsky.social
PhD candidate @ UC Berkeley Cell engineering & delivery of genome editors
We present VIPR, a phage-encoded RNA-guided system that recognizes DNA with a noncontiguous code unlike CRISPR. Tiny, programmable, possibly ancestral to CRISPR immunity; VIPR is built around a striking RNA-DNA-DNA triplex.
Excited to share our discovery of a new programmable RNA-guided DNA-targeting system hiding inside bacteriophages that predates CRISPR. We call it VIPR (Viral Interference Programmable Repeat), and it uses an entirely new logic to find its targets. Thread + link below.
Engineered TnpB genome editors for plants and human cells identified by ribonucleoprotein mutational scanning - @savagecatsonly.bsky.social go.nature.com/4loaOGn
Engineered TnpB genome editors for plants and human cells identified by ribonucleoprotein mutational scanning - Nature Biotechnology
TnpB endonucleases are engineered for improved genome editing.
go.nature.com
Amplified genome editing by in vivo editor production https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.13.699115v1
Targeted delivery of genome editors in vivo - @doudna-lab.bsky.social @innovativegenomics.bsky.social go.nature.com/4qKp6Tb
New from Ugrappa Nagalakshmi and Jorge Rodriguez 🌱✂️– Gene editing in plants just got a lot easier! Using engineered TnpB, they demonstrate high-efficiency, heritable, transgene-free editing in plants. (1/7)
Excited to share our first work on protein design! Huge thanks to the entire team, and especially to Bel, Evan, to the Doudna, Jacobsen, Cate, Banfield labs, all co-authors, and my D-lab mates! 💫
✨New preprint! 🧵1/4 Excited to share our work on AI-guided design of minimal RNA-guided nucleases. Amazing work by @petrskopintsev.bsky.social @isabelesain.bsky.social @evandeturk.bsky.social et al! Multi-lab collaboration @banfieldlab.bsky.social @jhdcate.bsky.social @jacobsenucla.bsky.social🧬 🔗👇
Our nuclease-protease story is out! We explored a fascinating case of coevolution and modularity in prokaryotic immune systems: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Thanks to wonderful coauthors/collaborators/friends, the whole @doudna-lab.bsky.social and everyone at @innovativegenomics.bsky.social
Recurrent acquisition of nuclease-protease pairs in antiviral immunity
Antiviral immune systems diversify by integrating new genes into existing pathways, creating new mechanisms of viral resistance. We identified genes encoding a predicted nuclease paired with a trypsin...
science.org
Now online at @nature.com we show how the Panoptes defense system protects against viruses that attempt immune evasion - and expands our understanding of the role of oligonucleotides in immunity. Check out this work co-led with @benadler.bsky.social here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature
Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.
nature.com
Excited to finally share this work! We noticed a pair of genes - a nuclease and a protease - shuffles between antiviral systems. We show how proteolysis activates the nuclease, triggering defense in known and unknown immune contexts. tinyurl.com/2uwwy4ty
Recurrent acquisition of nuclease-protease pairs in antiviral immunity
Antiviral immune systems diversify by integrating new genes into existing pathways, creating new mechanisms of viral resistance. We identified genes encoding a predicted nuclease paired with a trypsin...
tinyurl.com