Integrating HTS and CRISPR/Cas for next-generation nucleic and non-nucleic acid diagnostics.

Abstract

The synergy between HTS and CRISPR/Cas is changing how genes, biomarkers, and diseases are studied. Very useful due to the ability to scan entire molecular libraries in a single assay and its extreme rapidity. CRISPR/Cas systems, however, are crucial for achieving control and specificity, properties essential for precise genetic editing and targeted detection. HTS could be combined with CRISPR in two ways: HTS would expand the search space, and CRISPR would narrow it. This perspective highlights recent advances in which both platforms have been used together - for example, to find genetic variants and molecular markers in cancer, infectious diseases, and even biosensors to track the environment and metabolism. We discuss technical advances as well as practical issues that make the use of CRISPR/Cas more challenging in the clinical environment, including off-target activity, reproducibility, and the increasing complexity and dimensionality of data.