By using molecular simulations, Dr. Palermo revealed in real time and at atomic level resolution the process of activation of the leading genome editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. The activation is shown to occour through a fascinating process by which the protein and the nucleic acids are "sensing", "regulating" and "locking" the catalytic HNH domain ultimately cleaving the DNA.
A movie of the simulation has been added on youtube: Watch here
To read more about this mechanism, refer to the original paper:
G. Palermo, J. S. Chen, C. G. Ricci, I. Rivalta, M. Jinek, V. S. Batista, J. A. Doudna and J. A. McCammon. Key role of the REC lobe during CRISPR-Cas9 activation by “sensing”, “regulating” and “locking” the catalytic HNH domain. Quarterly Review of Biophysics 2018, 51, e9.
Hyperlink to journal: here