Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor Son Sung-min, bottom; UC Berkeley professor Daniel Fletcher, left; and Gladstone Institutes Senior Vice President Melanie Ott / Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), in collaboration with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the Gladstone Institutes, have developed a new technique that uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR to identify multiple pathogens at once, the institute said Friday.
The technique, developed by KAIST professor Son Sung-min of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and an international team of researchers, relies on the reaction speed of an enzyme known as Cas13. By treating these variations as a “molecular barcode,” they can distinguish multiple viruses or bacteria in a single sample, potentially streamlining diagnostic testing for infectious diseases.
Researchers found that the protein Cas13, which acts as a sensor for genetic material, displays a unique signature when it encounters a virus. Once the protein identifies its target, it triggers a chemical reaction that releases a fluorescent glow. The team discovered that the specific speed of this reaction changes depending on the pathogen involved, allowing scientists to use these distinct rates of speed as a timer to identify multiple infections at once.
The technology proved successful in clinical trials, distinguishing between several respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 variants in a single test. The researchers noted that by adjusting the design of the "guide" molecules that direct the protein to its target, they can fine-tune the reaction speeds. This flexibility allows the platform to be scaled up to identify a much broader range of pathogens.
"This research goes beyond simply detecting whether a virus is present," Son said. "We expect it to become a next-generation platform capable of diagnosing various infectious diseases on-site in a single test."
Son served as first author and co-corresponding author on the study.
The project included contributions from Daniel Fletcher, a professor of bioengineering and biophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Melanie Ott, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and the senior vice president of the Gladstone Institutes.
The findings were published March 31 in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering under the title “Programmable kinetic barcoding for multiplexed RNA detection with Cas13a.” The research was supported by KAIST's new faculty settlement research fund and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
