A comparison of seven dCas9-based transcriptional activators shows that VPR, SAM, and Suntag perform best in cell lines from a variety of organisms. Several programmable transcription factors exist based on the versatile Cas9 protein, yet their relative potency and effectiveness across various cell types and species remain unexplored. Here, we compare Cas9 activator systems and examine their ability to induce robust gene expression in several human, mouse, and fly cell lines. We also explore the potential for improved activation through the combination of the most potent activator systems, and we assess the role of cooperativity in maximizing gene expression.

Comparison of Cas9 activators in multiple species