Editing streptomycete genomes in the CRISPR/Cas9 age

Abstract

Covering: up to December 2018

This article aims to highlight advantages, drawbacks and issues that users should consider when implementing the use of CRISPR/Cas9-tools for genome editing in streptomycetes, the most prolific source of antimicrobial natural products to date. Here, we examine four toolkits that have so far been made available for streptomycete in vivo-engineering and one for in vitro-editing, and review how they have been applied over the last three years. Our critical evaluation of these toolkits intends to support potential users in determining what they could achieve, what they should consider and what system they should select/optimise for their application.