被撤回的出版物: CRISPR-Cas9 System: A Revolutionary Tool in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance (Retracted article. See vol. 3, pg. 171, 2021)

The rapidly evolving world of antimicrobial resistance has not only made it difficult to combat infectious diseases, but during the last decades also brought the discovery of novel antimicrobials to a standstill. In recent years, researchers discovered the potential of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (CRISPR-Cas) system as an alternative therapeutic. Since the unearthing of CRISPR-Cas9 as an adaptive immune system of bacteria, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been improved into a state-of-the-art genetic engineering tool, with an impressive ability to cause specific gene insertions and/or gene deletions, in almost all microorganisms. The emerging picture suggests that the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be exploited in a sequence-specific manner to selectively eliminate individual bacterial strains in a mixed microbial population, and/or re-sensitize bacteria to antibiotics. These findings have not only revolutionized biomedical research, but might also prove to be pivotal in creating novel alternative treatments for multidrug-resistant infections. Here, we discussed the up-to-date findings reported in this area, as well as the approaches involved in the utilization of CRISPR-Cas9 as a novel technology in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. We also highlighted recent studies that have exploited the CRISPR-Cas9 system in the context of targeting pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.

Automated summary

The CRISPR-Cas9 system, initially discovered as the adaptive immune system of bacteria, has been developed into a cutting-edge genetic engineering tool with the capability to insert and delete genes with high precision in almost all microorganisms. Recent studies have shown that this system can be utilized to target and eliminate specific bacterial strains, as well as to enhance bacteria's susceptibility to antibiotics. These findings have the potential to revolutionize biomedical research and offer novel treatment options for multidrug-resistant infections.