Although the history of molecular methods is relatively recent, future advances are being made at breakneck speed. Molecular diagnostics' applications in clinical microbiology promise many, leading to increased sensitivity and specificity of target detection.
One of these recent advances is CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9) technology. CRISPR-associated nucleases have shown to be helpful as a tool for molecular testing—they specifically target nucleic acid sequences in a high background of non-target sequences. The Cas9 enzyme uses CRISPR sequences to recognize and cleave specific strands of DNA.
The tool is being developed to help fight against antimicrobial resistance by providing information about the function of genes. This has been viewed as a breakthrough in genome engineering—the CRISPR-associated genes recognize specific repeats in DNA sequences. CRISPR-Cas can edit genes, which is thought to be helpful in gene replacement therapy for certain genetic disorders. The system has already been used to screen essential bacterial genes and identify virulence factors, hopefully, to identify new intervention strategies for the microbiology laboratory and healthcare in general.
Look for many exciting, rapid, and more cost-effective tests shortly.
