EMERGENCE OF CRISPR/CAS SYSTEMS: BEYOND CAS9 APPLICATIONS

The rapid growth of CRISPR/Cas systems in recent years, driven by their sequencespecific recognition capabilities, has resulted in numerous successful Cas9 applications. Yet, the broader Cas protein family remains relatively unexplored. Other Cas proteins offer diverse PAM sequences and potential advantages, including reduced component requirements and protein complex sizes. Addressing these opportunities requires comprehensive studies across the Cas family, shifting focus from mere applications. My project delves into three approaches—pairwise sequence alignment, Gibbs Sampling, and HMM profiling—to uncover conserved regions in the Cas family. Due to limited data and high Cas protein divergence, consistent motifs were challenging to ascertain, especially in complex models. Nonetheless, my efforts offer insights into the intricate CRISPR/Cas protein family