HomeMolecular BiologyCRISPR Adaptation: Spacer Acquisition Simulator

CRISPR Adaptation: Spacer Acquisition Simulator

Watch the Cas1-Cas2 integrase capture fragments of invading phage DNA and splice them into a bacterium's CRISPR array as new spacers — the immune-memory step that happens before Cas9 ever cuts anything. Tune PAM stringency and leader-end bias and watch the array grow.

Molecular Biology3DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version
crispr-technology ↗ Open standalone

Most CRISPR demos jump straight to Cas9 cutting DNA. This one models the step that has to happen first: bacterial adaptation, where a Cas1–Cas2 integrase complex samples fragments of invading phage DNA, preferentially selects the ones flanked by a correct PAM sequence, and splices them into the bacterium's CRISPR array as new spacers — almost always at the leader end, so the array grows into an ordered timeline of past infections. Tune PAM stringency and leader-end integration bias to see how selective vs. sloppy immune-memory formation looks, and watch live fidelity and rejection counters track how "clean" the resulting array is.

⚙ Under the hood

Watch the Cas1-Cas2 integrase capture fragments of invading phage DNA and splice them into a bacterium's CRISPR array as new spacers - the immune-memory formation step that happens before Cas9 ever cuts anything.

CRISPRCas1-Cas2bacterial immunitymolecular biologygeneticsphage

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

What did you find?

Add reproduction steps (optional)