CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials: Challenges and future prospects

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to modern medicine and may render common infections untreatable. The discovery of new antibiotics has come to a relative standstill during the last decade [1], and developing novel approaches to tackle the spread of AMR genes will require significant efforts in the coming years [2]. In 2014, several groups independently demonstrated how CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR–associated), a bacterial immune system now widely used for genome editing, can selectively remove AMR genes from bacterial populations. Here, we discuss the current state of the field of CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials, the challenges ahead, and how they may be overcome.