CRISPR-Cas system: Toward a more efficient technology for genome editing and beyond

Genome engineering technology is of great interest for biomedical research that enables scientists to make specific manipulation in the DNA sequence. Early methods for introducing double-stranded DNA breaks relies on protein-based systems. These platforms have enabled fascinating advances, but all are costly and time-consuming to engineer, preventing these from gaining high-throughput applications. The CRISPR-Cas9 system, co-opted from bacteria, has generated considerable excitement in gene targeting. In this review, we describe gene targeting techniques with an emphasis on recent strategies to improve the specificities of CRISPR-Cas systems for nuclease and non-nuclease applications.     

CRISPR-Cas9研究进展及在基因治疗上的应用

CRISPR-Cas9[Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats（CRISPR）/CRISPR-associated （Cas）9]是近年兴起的一种高特异性和高效的基因编辑新技术,由向导RNA（single guide RNA,sgRNA）和cas9（CRISPR-associated 9）蛋白组成,引起DNA位点特异性双链断裂（double-strand breaks,DSBs）,引发同源重组修复（homology-directed repair,HDR）或非同源末端连接修复（non-homologous end joining,NHEJ）,达到靶基因修饰的作用。CRISPR-Cas9技术自发现以来,因其便于操作、花费较低、高特异性、可同时打靶任意数量基因等优点而被应用。近年研究显示,对于一些遗传性疾病,可通过CRISPR-Cas9精确的基因编辑破坏致病的内源基因、改正引起疾病的突变体或插入新的保护性基因进行治疗,该技术为基因治疗开启了一个新方向。主要从CRISPR-Cas9结构、作用机制及在疾病基因治疗上的应用等方面进行了综述。     

Harnessing the native type I-B CRISPR-Cas for genome editing in a polyploid archaeon

Research on CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated protein) systems has led to the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique. However, for most archaea and half of bacteria, exploitation of their native CRISPR-Cas machineries may be more straightforward and convenient. In this study, we harnessed the native type I-B CRISPR-Cas system for precise genome editing in the polyploid haloarchaeon Haloarcula hispanica. After testing different designs, the editing tool was optimized to be a single plasmid that carries both the self-targeting mini-CRISPR and a 600–800 bp donor. Significantly, chromosomal modifications, such as gene deletion, gene tagging or single nucleotide substitution, were precisely introduced into the vast majority of the transformants. Moreover, we showed that simultaneous editing of two genomic loci could also be readily achieved by one step. In summary, our data demonstrate that the haloarchaeal CRISPR-Cas system can be harnessed for genome editing in this polyploid archaeon, and highlight the convenience and efficiency of the native CRISPR-based genome editing strategy.     

构建CRISPR-Cas9介导的耻垢分枝杆菌基因组高效删除系统

【背景】耻垢分枝杆菌具有生长迅速和非致病性的特点,可作为结核分枝杆菌致病机理研究替代菌株和类固醇激素生产的工程菌,但目前耻垢分枝杆菌中缺乏高效率的基因组敲除方法。【目的】基于CRISPR-Cas9介导的定点、高效的DNA切割能力,构建耻垢分枝杆菌染色体DNA片段无痕敲除系统。【方法】构建了包含四环素诱导型启动子驱动的密码子优化的cas9基础载体pCas9101,在双侧同源臂长度约为1 kb条件下选用合适的gRNA表达模块,分别测试了对耻垢分枝杆菌mc2155染色体上的3β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶基因(MSMEG_5228,1 071 bp)和胆固醇降解基因簇(MSMEG_5990-MSMEG_6043,约48kb)敲除效率,使用相同大小的同源臂以经典p2NIL-pGOAL方法进行对照,并计算效率。【结果】使用CRISPR-Cas9方法对耻垢分枝杆菌mc2155的3β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶基因敲除效率为22%,胆固醇降解基因簇敲除效率也达到18%,两者连续敲除效率为4%。但对照p2NIL-pGOAL方法未能获得目标DNA片段敲除的菌株。【结论】本文建立的基于CRISPR-Cas9的耻垢分枝杆菌基因组无痕敲除系统显示出较高的敲除效率,该方法可为耻垢分枝杆菌后续研究提供快速高效的基因组操作方法。     

CRISPR-Cas9系统在疾病模型中的应用

规律成簇间隔短回文重复（CRISPR）及相关核酸内切酶（Cas）系统是最近发现的一种关于RNA指导核酸内切酶的基因编辑技术,这一技术的发现促进了生物学和医学研究的发展。CRISPR-Cas9系统的简便性使其广泛应用于细胞基因组编辑、动物模型的构建及疾病模型的基因治疗。现就CRISPR-Cas9系统的结构特点、作用机制及应用进行了综述。     

CRISPR-derived genome editing technologies for metabolic engineering

In metabolic engineering, genome editing tools make it much easier to discover and evaluate relevant genes and pathways and construct strains. Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) systems now have become the first choice for genome engineering in many organisms includingindustrially relevant ones. Targeted DNA cleavage by CRISPR-Cas provides variousgenome engineering modes such as indels, replacements, large deletions, knock-in and chromosomal rearrangements, while host-dependent differences in repair pathways need to be considered. The versatility of the CRISPR system has given rise to derivative technologies that complement nuclease-based editing, which causes cytotoxicity especially in microorganisms. Deaminase-mediated base editing installs targeted point mutations with much less toxicity. CRISPRi and CRISPRa can temporarily control gene expression without changing the genomic sequence. Multiplex, combinatorial and large scale editing are made possible by streamlined design and construction of gRNA libraries to further accelerates comprehensive discovery, evaluation and building of metabolic pathways. This review summarizes the technical basis and recent advances in CRISPR-related genome editing tools applied for metabolic engineering purposes, with representative examples of industrially relevant eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.     

Rapid and efficient generation of GFP-knocked-in Drosophila by the CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing

The CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been a powerful means to manipulate the genome in a wide range of organisms. A series of GFP knocked-in (GFP^KI) Drosophila strains have been generated through CRISPR-Cas9-induced double strand breaks coupled with homology-directed repairs in the presence of donor plasmids. They visualized specific cell types or intracellular structures in both fixed and live specimen. We provide a rapid and efficient strategy to identify KI lines. This method requires neither co-integration of a selection marker nor prior establishment of sgRNA-expressing transgenic lines. The injection of the mixture of a sgRNA/Cas9 expression plasmid and a donor plasmid into cleavage stage embryos efficiently generated multiple independent KI lines. A PCR-based selection allows to identify KI fly lines at the F1 generation (approximately 4 weeks after injection). These GFP^KI strains have been deposited in the Kyoto Drosophila stock center, and made freely available to researchers at non-profit organizations. Thus, they will be useful resources for Drosophila research.     

CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑技术在秀丽线虫中的应用

基于细菌基因组规律成蔟的间隔短回文重复(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)发展而来的新型基因编辑方法(CRISPR-Cas9)对生物医学研究是一场划时代的革命。它几乎可用于大多数生物体的基因编辑。秀丽线虫是一种非常经典的遗传学模式生物,CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑技术进一步加速了对其基因功能及各种生物学问题的研究。文中主要总结CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑系统在遗传学模式生物秀丽线虫中的发展和应用。     

A high-throughput screening strategy for detecting CRISPR-Cas9 induced mutations using next-generation sequencing

Background

CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary genome editing technique that allows for efficient and directed alterations of the eukaryotic genome. This relatively new technology has already been used in a large number of ‘loss of function’ experiments in cultured cells. Despite its simplicity and efficiency, screening for mutated clones remains time-consuming, laborious and/or expensive.

Results

Here we report a high-throughput screening strategy that allows parallel screening of up to 96 clones, using next-generation sequencing. As a proof of principle, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to disrupt the coding sequence of the homeobox gene, Evx1 in mouse embryonic stem cells. We screened 67 CRISPR-Cas9 transfected clones simultaneously by next-generation sequencing on the Ion Torrent PGM. We were able to identify both homozygous and heterozygous Evx1 mutants, as well as mixed clones, which must be identified to maintain the integrity of subsequent experiments.

Conclusions

Our CRISPR-Cas9 screening strategy could be widely applied to screen for CRISPR-Cas9 mutants in a variety of contexts including the generation of mutant cell lines for in vitro research, the generation of transgenic organisms and for assessing the veracity of CRISPR-Cas9 homology directed repair. This technique is cost and time-effective, provides information on clonal heterogeneity and is adaptable for use on various sequencing platforms.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-1002) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

CRISPR-Cas9驱动的基因编辑新纪元

在自然界生物长期的进化过程中,细菌和古细菌演化出了一种适应性免疫系统用以抵御外源病毒与质粒的入侵,该系统由成簇规律间隔的短回文重复序列与相关基因组成,称之为CRISPR-Cas。近年来,这一领域突飞猛进,如今已经发展成为一种功能强大的基因编辑工具并在生物学及其相关领域得到广泛应用。本文重点综述了近年来CRISPR-Cas9系统在基因编辑、基因调节以及作为体外工具酶和特异性等方面的若干前沿进展。     

Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for the photosynthetic production of succinate

Succinate is an important commodity chemical currently used in the food, pharmaceutical, and polymer industries. It can also be chemically converted into other major industrial chemicals such as 1,4-butanediol, butadiene, and tetrahydrofuran. Here we metabolically engineered a model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 to photosynthetically produce succinate. We expressed the genes encoding for α-ketoglutarate decarboxylase and succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase in S. elongatus PCC 7942, resulting in a strain capable of producing 120 mg/L of succinate. However, this recombinant strain exhibited severe growth retardation upon induction of the genes encoding for the succinate producing pathway, potentially due to the depletion of α-ketoglutarate. To replenish α-ketoglutarate, we expressed the genes encoding for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and citrate synthase from Corynebacterium glutamicum into the succinate producing strain. The resulting strain successfully restored the growth phenotype and produced succinate with a titer of 430 mg/L in 8 days. These results demonstrated the possibility of photoautotrophic succinate production.     

CRISPR-Cas9 Circular Permutants as Programmable Scaffolds for Genome Modification

1. Download high-res image (215KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

Synthetic biology tools for engineering Yarrowia lipolytica

The non-conventional oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica shows great industrial promise. It naturally produces certain compounds of interest but can also artificially generate non-native metabolites, thanks to an engineering process made possible by the significant expansion of a dedicated genetic toolbox. In this review, we present recently developed synthetic biology tools that facilitate the manipulation of Y. lipolytica, including 1) DNA assembly techniques, 2) DNA parts for constructing expression cassettes, 3) genome-editing techniques, and 4) computational tools.     

CRISPR-Cas9技术在细菌中的研究进展及应用

CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)最早发现于绝大多数细菌和古细菌中,帮助其防御和抵抗噬菌体和外来质粒的入侵。近年来,随着对该系统结构及功能的逐步深入认识和研究,CRISPR-Cas9技术已经发展成为一种简易高效的基因组定点编辑手段,但是在使用过程中仍存在一些问题。本文重点介绍了CRISPR-Cas9系统功能和分类,在细菌基因编辑中的应用和问题以及应对措施。     

CRISPR-Cas9介导的基因组编辑技术的研究进展

CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated proteins)系统为细菌与古生菌中抵御外源病毒或质粒DNA入侵的获得性免疫系统。该系统在crRNA的指导下,使核酸酶Cas识别并降解外源DNA。其中,Ⅱ型CRISPR-Cas系统最为简单,仅包括一个核酸酶Cas9与tracrRNA：crRNA二聚体便可完成其生物功能。基于CRISPR-Cas9的基因组编辑技术的核心为将tracrRNA:crRNA设计为引导RNA,在引导RNA的指导下Cas9定位于特定DNA序列上,进行DNA双链切割,实现基因组的定向编辑。CRISPR-Cas9系统以设计操纵简便、编辑高效与通用性广等优势成为新一代基因组编辑技术,为基因组定向改造调控与应用等带来突破性革命。从CRISPR-Cas9介导的基因组编辑技术的发展与应用等方面综述其最新研究进展,并着重介绍该技术的关键影响因素,为相关研究者提供参考。     

Temperature-Responsive Competitive Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9

1. Download high-res image (168KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

基于CRISPR-Cas9技术的基因治疗研究进展

CRISPR-Cas9系统是细菌在与噬菌体抗争的进化过程中产生的一种抵御外源DNA入侵的机制,能有效识别并剪切外源DNA。基于其识别切除外源DNA的原理,CRISPR-Cas9系统被开发成为新一代基因编辑工具。与ES打靶、ZFN、TALEN等技术途径相比,CRISPR-Cas9系统操作简便、效率高、成本低,有着极其广阔的应用前景。本文整理了近年内有关CRISPR-Cas9系统的最新文献报道,对该系统工作原理以及针对基因治疗的研究进展进行综述。     

Structure and engineering of the minimal type VI CRISPR-Cas13bt3

1. Download : Download high-res image (292KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image