Provided herein are compositions and methods for improving the genome-wide specificities of targeted base editing technologies.

The invention relates to peptide linkers and fusion proteins comprising linkers designed for optimizing the activity of the proteins comprised therein, and methods for using the same. The invention further relates to newly designed Cas12a-based cytosine base editors.

The invention relates to modified helicases with reduced unbinding from polynucleotides. The helicases can be used to control the movement of polynucleotides and are particularly useful for sequencing polynucleotides.

The present disclosure provides methods and compositions for modulating expression of a target gene in a cell by reducing binding of an endogenous transcription factor to a regulatory sequence of the target gene. The method includes introducing into the cell a DNA binding polypeptide (DBF) that binds a sequence in regulatory region of a target gene bound by a transcription factor (TF), thereby displacing the TF and modulating expression of the target gene. The DBF may be designed to bind a sequence comprising the binding site for the TF and additional nucleotides present on one or both sides of the sequence. Accordingly, the DBF specifically binds to binding site for the TF in the target gene but not in other genes that are also regulated by binding of the TF but do not include the nucleotides present on one or both sides of the sequence.

This disclosure relates to thermophilic family B DNA polymerases comprising a neutral amino acid residue at a certain position near the C-terminus of the catalytic domain, which corresponds to a position occupied by a basic amino acid residue in wild-type Pfu polymerase. Related uses, methods, and compositions are also provided. In some embodiments, the polymerases comprise a 3′-5′ exonuclease domain and/or a sequence non-specific dsDNA binding domain.

The present disclosure provides for non-viral compositions and methods for delivering nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells (e.g., stem cells) with high efficiency and low genotoxicity.

Provided herein are, inter alia, compositions and methods for modulating gene expression.

Disclosed herein are polynucleotides encoding ligand-inducible gene switch polypeptides, and systems comprising gene switch polypeptides for modulating the expression of a heterologous gene and an interleukin in a host cell. The compositions, methods and systems described herein facilitate ligand dependent expression of polypeptides including but not limited to cytokines and antigen binding polypeptides.

Provided herein are systems, compositions, and methods for the incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins via nonsense suppression or rare codon suppression. Nonsense codons and rare codons may be introduced into the coding sequence of a protein of interest using a CRISPR/Cas9-based nucleobase editor described herein. The nucleobase editors are able to be programmed by guide nucleotide sequences to edit the target codons in the coding sequence of the protein of interest. Also provided are application enabled by the technology described herein.

Some aspects of this disclosure provide compositions, strategies, systems, reagents, methods, and kits that are useful for the targeted editing of nucleic acids, including editing a single site within the genome of a cell or subject, e.g., within the human genome. In some embodiments, fusion proteins capable of inducing a cytosine (C) to guanine (G) change in a nucleic acid (e.g., genomic DNA) are provided. In some embodiments, fusion proteins of a nucleic acid programmable DNA binding protein (e.g., Cas9) and nucleic acid editing proteins or protein domains, e.g., deaminase domains, polymerase domains, and/or base excision enzymes are provided. In some embodiments, methods for targeted nucleic acid editing are provided. In some embodiments, reagents and kits for the generation of targeted nucleic acid editing proteins, e.g., fusion proteins of a nucleic acid programmable DNA binding protein (e.g., Cas9), and nucleic acid editing proteins or domains, are provided.