CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanism Diagram

Guide-RNA-loaded Cas9 binds protospacer, makes a double-strand break, and triggers NHEJ or HDR repair.

Prompt

Create a publication-ready CRISPR-Cas9 mechanism diagram.

Layout:
- Three main panels arranged left to right with arrows between them.
- Panel 1: Targeting. Show Cas9 protein loaded with single-guide RNA binding a DNA protospacer next to a PAM sequence labeled "5'-NGG-3'". Label guide RNA, protospacer, PAM, and DNA strands.
- Panel 2: Cleavage. Show Cas9 making a blunt double-strand break 3 bp upstream of the PAM. Mark both cut sites clearly and label "DSB".
- Panel 3: Repair. Split into two branches: NHEJ leading to small insertion / deletion mutations, and HDR using a donor template to introduce a precise edit.
- Add a small check mark on the HDR precise-edit branch and a warning marker on the NHEJ indel branch.

Style:
- Clean molecular biology figure on a white background.
- Soft blue Cas9 protein shape, coral guide RNA, navy DNA backbone, green PAM, red cleavage marks.
- Use concise labels and numbered step badges.
- High contrast, vector-like, suitable for educational explainers and gene-editing papers.

Use in Generator

When to use

For molecular biology / gene editing / therapeutics papers and educational explainers.

Variations

Base editor variant

Replace Cas9 with a Cas9 nickase fused to a deaminase domain (cytidine or adenine base editor). Remove the DSB; show targeted base conversion (C->T or A->G) without strand breakage.

Tips

Show PAM explicitly. Without it, the targeting story is incomplete.
Always contrast NHEJ vs HDR in repair. Single-path diagrams miss the editing-outcome dichotomy.
Label the DSB with the exact distance to PAM (3 bp). Specifics increase reader trust.

FAQ

How do I show off-target effects?

Add a side panel with a heatmap of cleavage frequency at on-target vs 5 off-target loci. Color cells by frequency.