R. Malothu Enzymes, CRISPER, role, editing, gene 9-10 Volume 1 (1) January, 2025 The primary enzyme in CRISPR gene editing is Cas9, acting as "molecular scissors" guided by RNA to cut specific DNA sequences, but other Cas (CRISPR-associated) proteins like Cas12a (Cpf1) and Cas13 are also used, with Cas13 targeting RNA instead of DNA, offering versatility for different editing or detection tasks.