CRISPR system: Discovery, development and off-target detection

As a revolutionary gene editing tool based on the adaptive immune defense mechanism of bacteria and archaea against exogenous DNA invasion, CRISPR/Cas system shows many remarkable characteristics over ZFNs and TALENs. However, off-target effect remains as one of the major imperfection of CRISPR/Cas system, hindering its further application in translational research. In this review, we highlight major breakthrough cross the development/application of this powerful toolkit, and summarize feasible methods for detecting potential off-target effects during genetic manipulation. We hope this review will assist scientists for accurate genomic editing in their future research.