The American Society for Microbioogy journal mSphere recently launched a new series of commentaries called “mSphere of Influence.” Young scientists were invited to write about how one or more important papers made a substantial impact on their own work and thinking. The paper “A CRISPR-based approach for proteomic analysis of a single genomic locus” which was a collaborative effort between the labs of Kevin Raney and Alan Tackett was recognized by Lucy Glover in her commentary.