碱基编辑系统研究最新进展及应用

CRISPR系统能够在基因组DNA中完成精准编辑,但依赖于细胞内的同源重组(Homology directed recombination,HDR)修复途径,且效率极低.基于CRISPR/Cas9系统开发的碱基编辑技术(Base editing)通过将失去切割活性的核酸酶与不同碱基脱氨基酶融合,构建了两套碱基编辑系统(...     

Development of a universal antibiotic resistance screening reporter for improving efficiency of cytosine and adenine base editing

Base editing has emerged as a revolutionary technology for single nucleotide modifications. The cytosine and adenine base editors (CBEs and ABEs) have demonstrated great potential in clinical and fundamental research. However, screening and isolating target-edited cells remains challenging. In the current study, we developed a universal Adenine and Cytosine Base-Editing Antibiotic Resistance Screening Reporter (ACBE-ARSR) for improving the editing efficiency. To develop the reporter, the CBE-ARSR was first constructed and shown to be capable of enriching cells for those that had undergone CBE editing activity. Then, the ACBE-ARSR was constructed and was further validated in the editing assays by four different CBEs and two versions of ABE at several different genomic loci. Our results demonstrated that ACBE-ARSR, compared to the reporter of transfection (RoT) screening strategy, improved the editing efficiency of CBE and ABE by 4.6- and 1.9-fold on average, respectively. We found the highest CBE and ABE editing efficiencies as enriched by ACBE-ARSR reached 90% and 88.7%. Moreover, we also demonstrated ACBE-ARSR could be employed for enhancing simultaneous multiplexed genome editing. In conclusion, both CBE and ABE activity can be improved significantly using our novel ACBE-ARSR screening strategy, which we believe will facilitate the development of base editors and their application in biomedical and fundamental research studies.     

基因编辑之“新宠”—单碱基基因组编辑系统

近年发展起来的人工核酸酶可通过引起特定位点的DNA双链断裂实现对目的片段的有效编辑。为进一步提高碱基修改的效率和精确度,2016年研究者们利用CRISPR/Cas9识别特定DNA序列的功能,结合胞嘧啶脱氨酶的生化活性发明了将胞嘧啶高效转换为胸腺嘧啶(C>T)的嘧啶单碱基编辑系统(base editor)。这一系统虽然能精准实现嘧啶直接转换,大大提高精确基因编辑效率,但美中不足的是无法对嘌呤进行修改。近期,Nature报道了将细菌中的tRNA腺嘌呤脱氨酶定向进化形成具有催化DNA腺嘌呤底物的脱氨酶,将其与Cas9系统融合发明了具有高效催化腺嘌呤转换为鸟嘌呤的新工具—腺嘌呤单碱基编辑系统(ABEs, adenine base editors)。本文总结了单碱基编辑工具的发展历程和最新研究进展,着重介绍ABEs的研发过程,并对单碱基编辑工具今后的应用方向和研发方向进行展望。     

Artificial evolution of OsEPSPS through an improved dual cytosine and adenine base editor generated a novel allele conferring rice glyphosate tolerance

Exploiting novel endogenous glyphosate-tolerant alleles is highly desirable and has promising potential for weed control in rice breeding. Here,through fusions of different effective cytosine and adenine deaminases with nCas9-NG, we engineered an effective surrogate two-component composite base editing system, STCBE-2, with improved C-to-T and A-to-G base editing efficiency and expanded the editing window. Furthermore,we targeted a rice endogenous OsEPSPS gene for artificial evolution through ST...     

碱基编辑器的开发及其在细菌基因组编辑中的应用

碱基编辑器是近两年发展起来的新型基因组编辑工具,它将碱基脱氨酶的催化活性和CRISPR/Cas系统的靶向特异性进行结合,催化DNA或RNA链上特定位点的碱基发生脱氨基反应,进而完成碱基的替换。碱基编辑器分为DNA和RNA碱基编辑器两大类,其中DNA碱基编辑器分为两种:胞嘧啶碱基编辑器和腺嘌呤碱基编辑器;前者可以实现胞嘧啶到胸腺嘧啶的转换,而后者则可以将腺嘌呤突变为鸟嘌呤。由于DNA碱基编辑器不会造成DNA的双链断裂(DSB),也不依赖于宿主的非同源末端修复和同源重组途径,因此,大大减少了DSB相关的编辑副产物,如小片段插入或缺失等。基于CRISPR/Cas系统的RNA碱基编辑器,可以实现RNA链上腺嘌呤核苷到次黄苷的转换。本文对不同类型碱基编辑器的开发过程、适用范围和编辑特点等进行梳理,并对其在细菌基因组编辑中的应用进行了介绍;最后简要探讨了细菌中碱基编辑器的缺点以及将来可能的研究方向。     

中国科学家发现胞嘧啶单碱基编辑工具存在 基因组范围的脱靶

基于CRISPR-Cas的单碱基编辑工具是近2年基因组编辑技术的重大突破之一, 已经在人类(Homo sapiens)细胞和动植物中得到了验证与应用。最近, 中国科学家分析了胞嘧啶编辑器(CBE) BE3和HF1-BE3, 以及腺嘌呤编辑器(ABE)等单碱基编辑工具在水稻(Oryza sativa)中的脱靶现象, 发现BE3和HF1-BE3两个CBE在全基因组范围内存在脱靶编辑, 而ABE则没有脱靶现象。这一发现对单碱基编辑工具的应用和进一步改进具有重要意义。     

中国科学家发现胞嘧啶单碱基编辑工具存在 基因组范围的脱靶

基于CRISPR-Cas的单碱基编辑工具是近2年基因组编辑技术的重大突破之一, 已经在人类(Homo sapiens)细胞和动植物中得到了验证与应用。最近, 中国科学家分析了胞嘧啶编辑器(CBE) BE3和HF1-BE3, 以及腺嘌呤编辑器(ABE)等单碱基编辑工具在水稻(Oryza sativa)中的脱靶现象, 发现BE3和HF1-BE3两个CBE在全基因组范围内存在脱靶编辑, 而ABE则没有脱靶现象。这一发现对单碱基编辑工具的应用和进一步改进具有重要意义。     

基于CRISPR/Cas系统的DNA碱基编辑技术及其在生物医学和农业中的应用

近年来,基于成簇的规律间隔短回文重复序列及其相关系统(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein,CRISPR/Cas)的基因编辑技术飞速发展,该系统可以利用同源定向重组(Homology directed repair,HDR)来完成其介导的精准编辑,但效率极低,限制了其在农业和生物医学等领域上的推广应用。基于CRISPR/Cas系统的DNA碱基编辑技术作为一种新兴的基因组编辑技术,能在不产生双链断裂的情况下实现碱基的定向突变,相对于CRISPR/Cas介导的HDR编辑具有更高的编辑效率和特异性。目前,已开发出了可将C碱基突变为T碱基的胞嘧啶碱基编辑器(Cytidine base editors,CBE),将A碱基突变为G碱基的腺嘌呤碱基编辑器(Adenine base editors,ABE),以及可实现碱基任意变换和小片段精准插入和缺失的Prime编辑器(Prime editors,PE)。另外,能实现C到G颠换的糖基化酶碱基编辑器(Glycosylase base editors,GBE)以及能同时编辑A和C两种底物的双碱基编辑器也已被开发出来。文中主要综述了几种DNA碱基编辑器的开发历程、研究进展及各自优点和局限性;介绍了DNA碱基编辑技术在生物医学以及农业中的成功应用案例,以期为DNA碱基编辑器的进一步优化和选择应用提供借鉴。     

Simplified adenine base editors improve adenine base editing efficiency in rice

Adenine base editors (ABEs) have been exploited to introduce targeted adenine (A) to guanine (G) base conversions in various plant genomes, including rice, wheat and Arabidopsis. However, the ABEs reported thus far are all quite inefficient at many target sites in rice, which hampers their applications in plant genome engineering and crop breeding. Here, we show that unlike in the mammalian system, a simplified base editor ABE‐P1S (Adenine Base Editor‐Plant version 1 Simplified) containing the ecTadA*7.10‐nSpCas9 (D10A) fusion has much higher editing efficiency in rice compared to the widely used ABE‐P1 consisting of the ecTadA‐ecTadA*7.10‐nSpCas9 (D10A) fusion. We found that the protein expression level of ABE‐P1S is higher than that of ABE‐P1 in rice calli and protoplasts, which may explain the higher editing efficiency of ABE‐P1S in different rice varieties. Moreover, we demonstrate that the ecTadA*7.10‐nCas9 fusion can be used to improve the editing efficiency of other ABEs containing SaCas9 or the engineered SaKKH‐Cas9 variant. These more efficient ABEs will help advance trait improvements in rice and other crops.     

A cytosine base editor toolkit with varying activity windows and target scopes for versatile gene manipulation in plants

CRISPR/Cas-derived base editing tools empower efficient alteration of genomic cytosines or adenines associated with essential genetic traits in plants and animals. Diversified target sequences and customized editing products call for base editors with distinct features regarding the editing window and target scope. Here we developed a toolkit of plant base editors containing AID10, an engineered human AID cytosine deaminase. When fused to the N-terminus or C-terminus of the conventional Cas9 nickase (nSpCas9), AID10 exhibited a broad or narrow activity window at the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-distal and -proximal protospacer, respectively, while AID10 fused to both termini conferred an additive activity window. We further replaced nSpCas9 with orthogonal or PAM-relaxed Cas9 variants to widen target scopes. Moreover, we devised dual base editors with AID10 located adjacently or distally to the adenine deaminase ABE8e, leading to juxtaposed or spaced cytosine and adenine co-editing at the same target sequence in plant cells. Furthermore, we expanded the application of this toolkit in plants for tunable knockdown of protein-coding genes via creating upstream open reading frame and for loss-of-function analysis of non-coding genes, such as microRNA sponges. Collectively, this toolkit increases the functional diversity and versatility of base editors in basic and applied plant research.     

基于CRISPR/Cas系统的单碱基编辑技术研究进展*

基于CRISPR/Cas系统出现的单碱基编辑技术可以实现高效且简便的单个碱基的替换编辑,其原理是将胞嘧啶脱氨酶(cytosine deaminase)或腺苷脱氨酶(adenosine deaminase)与Cas9n(D10A)形成融合蛋白,通过CRISPR/Cas精准识别和定位DNA上的靶位点后,利用胞嘧啶脱氨酶或腺苷脱氨酶将靶点距离sgRNA位点基序(protospacer adjacent motif,PAM)序列端的4~7位的单个碱基发生单碱基转换或颠换。对基于CRISPR/Cas系统的单碱基编辑技术发现的历史、组成和分类、工作原理进行了概述,并总结了该系统最新进展及应用。     

毕赤酵母胞嘧啶碱基编辑器的设计与功能评价

【目的】在巴斯德毕赤酵母（Pichia pastoris）中建立一套分子靶向突变系统，为毕赤酵母的基因工程改造提供高效的编辑工具。【方法】基于规律成簇的间隔短回文重复序列/Cas9核酸酶（clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 nuclease，CRISPR/Cas9）技术，设计并构建nCas9与胞苷脱氨酶融合表达的胞嘧啶碱基编辑器（cytosine base editor，CBE），并选择酵母基因组中富含碱基C的一段序列作为靶标以评价CBE的碱基编辑功能。电转化酵母后，利用高通量测序技术分析CBE的编辑效率及编辑模式，并进一步探究连接肽长度、融合蛋白相对位置和gRNA靶向序列（即spacer）长度等因素对CBE功能的影响。【结果】nCas9与PmCDA1融合组成的CBE能够实现毕赤酵母基因组碱基C的高效编辑。当连接肽长度为（GGGGS）₁₀时，CBE的编辑效率最高，编辑窗口位于前间隔序列邻近基序（protospacer adjacent motif，PAM）远端的C20–C14之间，其中C18的编辑效率可达85.1%。nCas9与PmCDA1相对位置的改变对CBE的编辑效率和编辑模式的影响不大。而gRNA靶向序列长度影响着CBE的编辑效率，且gRNA靶向序列长度不能低于17 nt，但19–23 nt之间均可引导CBE对基因组的高效编辑。【结论】本研究在巴斯德毕赤酵母中构建了一套具有高效碱基编辑活性的胞嘧啶碱基编辑器，为基于毕赤酵母的基础和应用研究提供了工具支持。     

CRISPR/Sc++-mediated genome editing in rice

Streptococcus canis Cas9 (ScCas9) is an RNA-guided endonuclease with NNG protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) specificity whose genome-editing activity in rice is locus-dependent. Here we investigated the performance of a ScCas9 variant named Sc⁺⁺ at different NNG PAM sites in the rice genome; Sc⁺⁺ harbors a T1227K mutation and the substitution of a positively charged loop (residues 367–376). Sc⁺⁺ nuclease achieved broader genome editing compared to the original ScCas9, and its nickase improved targeted base editing in transgenic rice plants. Using the high-efficiency adenine base editor rBE73b, we generated many new OsGS1 alleles suitable for screening of rice germplasm for potential herbicide resistance in the future. The CRISPR/Sc⁺⁺ system expands the genome-editing toolkit for rice.     

CRISPR/Cpf1单碱基编辑系统的构建及应用

作物的优良性状往往来自于其相应基因的单个碱基突变,而传统育种无法轻易获得此种定向单碱基变异。单碱基编辑技术是以成簇规律间隔短回文重复序列（clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR?associated proteins,CRISPR/Cas）系统为基础改良的一项基因编辑技术,该技术可在不造成DNA双链断裂的情况下对靶序列上的特定碱基进行定向替换。为拓展单碱基编辑技术在作物中的识别范围,利用来自Francisella novicida细菌的FnCpf1核酸酶及胞嘧啶脱氨酶APOBEC1对单碱基编辑系统进行改良,并针对玉米BT2基因靶位点构建相应载体,通过瞬时转化手段检测其编辑能力。检测结果发现9种碱基变化类型,其中靶位点5′端第11个碱基的胞嘧啶转化为腺嘌呤,位点编辑效率达到2.5%。结果表明该系统能够识别“TTN”作为原型间隔序列毗邻基序（protospacer?adjacent motif,PAM）并对靶位点进行单碱基编辑,为单碱基编辑识别范围的拓展提供了研究思路。     

基于双碱基编辑系统的植物基因靶向随机突变技术

遗传性变异是表型多样性的基础,靶向饱和突变作物基因可以促进产生具有优异农艺性状的突变体。相较于传统诱变育种和异源物种中的定向进化方法,基于双碱基编辑系统的植物基因靶向随机突变技术可对植物内源基因产生高效突变,从而实现原位定向进化,加快植物育种及功能基因研究进程。该文介绍了使用饱和靶向内源基因突变编辑器(STEME)对植...     

Front Cover Image,Volume 116, Number 11, November 2019

CRISPR/Cas9-guided cytidine deaminase enables C:G to T:A base editing in bacterial genome without introduction of lethal double-stranded DNA break, supplement of foreign DNA template, or dependence on inefficient homologous recombination. However, limited by genome-targeting scope, editing window, and base transition capability, the application of base editing in metabolic engineering has not been explored. Herein, four Cas9 variants accepting different protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequences were used to increase the genome-targeting scope of bacterial base editing. After a comprehensive evaluation, we demonstrated that PAM requirement of bacterial base editing can be relaxed from NGG to NG using the Cas9 variants, providing 3.9-fold more target loci for gene inactivation in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Truncated or extended guide RNAs were employed to expand the canonical 5-bp editing window to 7-bp. Bacterial adenine base editing was also achieved with Cas9 fused to adenosine deaminase. With these updates, base editing can serve as an enabling tool for fast metabolic engineering. To demonstrate its potential, base editing was used to deregulate feedback inhibition of aspartokinase via amino acid substitution for lysine overproduction. Finally, a user-friendly online tool named gBIG was provided for designing guide RNAs for base editing-mediated inactivation of given genes in any given sequenced genome ( www.ibiodesign.net/gBIG ).     

BEguider:一个单碱基编辑器sgRNA设计与编辑效率预测工具

单碱基编辑器是实用且高效的基因编辑工具,其编辑效率与单向导RNA(single guide RNA, sgRNA)序列的设计密切相关。目前单碱基编辑器sgRNA序列的设计缺少特定的法则,主要依靠经验和大量尝试完成。本研究基于卷积神经网络,开发了一个单碱基编辑器sgRNA序列设计工具BEguider。BEguider利用TensorFlow 2深度学习框架建立编辑效率预测模型,能够在人基因组范围内针对NGG PAM序列依赖的单碱基编辑器ABE7.10-NGG和BE4-NGG批量设计sgRNA序列,预测编辑效率。此外,通过整合Cas-OFFinder, BEguider能够提供对sgRNA脱靶情况的评估。利用BEguider设计sgRNA序列,有助于研究人员提高实验效率,节约实验成本。     

Base editing in crops: current advances,limitations and future implications

Targeted mutagenesis via genome‐editing technologies holds great promise in developing improved crop varieties to meet future demands. Point mutations or single nucleotide polymorphisms often determine important agronomic traits of crops. Genome‐editing‐based single‐base changes could generate elite trait variants in crop plants which help in accelerating crop improvement. Among the genome‐editing technologies, base editing has emerged as a novel and efficient genome‐editing approach which enables direct and irreversible conversion of one target base into another in a programmable manner. A base editor is a fusion of catalytically inactive CRISPR–Cas9 domain (Cas9 variants) and cytosine or adenosine deaminase domain that introduces desired point mutations in the target region enabling precise editing of genomes. In the present review, we have summarized the development of different base‐editing platforms. Then, we have focussed on the current advances and the potential applications of this precise technology in crop improvement. The review also sheds light on the limitations associated with this technology. Finally, the future perspectives of this emerging technology towards crop improvement have been highlighted.     

Precise A•T to G•C base editing in the zebrafish genome

Background

Base editors are a class of genome editing tools with the ability to efficiently induce point mutations in genomic DNA, without inducing double-strand breaks or relying on homology-direct repair as in other such technologies. Recently, adenine base editors (ABEs) have been developed to mediate the conversion of A?T to G?C in genomic DNA of human cells, mice, and plants. Here, we investigated the activity and efficiency of several adenine base editors in zebrafish and showed that base editing can be used to create new models of pathogenic diseases caused by point mutations.

Results

The original ABE7.10 exhibits almost no activity in zebrafish. After codon optimization, we found that a zABE7.10 variant could induce targeted conversion of adenine to guanine in zebrafish at multiple tested genomic loci, and all the target sites showed a high rate of germline targeting efficiency. Furthermore, using this system, we established a zebrafish model of 5q-Syndrome that contained a new point mutation in rps14. The further modification of zABE7.10 by a bipartite nuclear localization signals (bpNLS) resulted in 1.96-fold average improvement in ABE-mediated editing efficiency at four sites.

Conclusions

Collectively, this system, designated as zABE7.10, provides a strategy to perform A?T to G?C base editing in zebrafish and enhances its capacity to model human diseases.