Single-step purification of functional Cas9 protein via the ubiquitin expression system

Abstract

The CRISPR/Cas9 system serves as a powerful platform for precise genome editing, with CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes exhibiting superior editing efficiency compared to alternative delivery modalities. However, current methods for Cas9 production typically involve multiple purification steps. Here, we developed a streamlined single-step purification strategy for preparation of functional Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) with dispensable tag removal after inducible expression in Escherichia coli. Notably, N-terminal Ubiquitin (Ub) fusion preserved both accurate nuclear localization and remarkable protein stability, enabling robust production of over 8 mg/L of >95 % pure Ub-Cas9 via single metal affinity chromatography. Comprehensive endonuclease activity assays confirmed that the purified Ub-Cas9 maintained robust DNA cleavage capacity both in vitro and in vivo. Our work provides a convenient and efficient platform for production of highly purified Ub-Cas9 protein for widespread applications in gene function study.