RNA Writing: Programmable Splicing for Transcriptome Engineering

Patent Status

Additional Patent Pending

Brief Description

RNA splicing is a fundamental biological process, in which a pre-mRNA transcript is modified by the endogenous spliceosomal complex into a mature mRNA transcript. This standard process involves a single pre-mRNA molecule “in cis.”  Whereas methods for editing DNA using editing enzymes have been described and are currently in use for various gene editing applications, there is a need in the art for methods of editing RNA.

UC Berkeley researchers have created a hybrid RNA molecule comprising a targeting region and a donor RNA, and compositions comprising the hybrid RNA molecule which is useful in methods of modifying a target RNA by employing a splicing reaction that joins two distinct RNA molecules “in trans.”  

Suggested uses

• RNA editing