Can Designer Indels Be Tailored by Gene Editing?

Genome editing with engineered nucleases (GEENs) introduce site‐specific DNA double‐strand breaks (DSBs) and repairs DSBs via nonhomologous end‐joining (NHEJ) pathways that eventually create indels (insertions/deletions) in a genome. Whether the features of indels resulting from gene editing could be customized is asked. A review of the literature reveals how gene editing technologies via NHEJ pathways impact gene editing. The survey consolidates a body of literature that suggests that the type (insertion, deletion, and complex) and the approximate length of indel edits can be somewhat customized with different GEENs and by manipulating the expression of key NHEJ genes. Structural data suggest that binding of GEENs to DNA may interfere with binding of key components of DNA repair complexes, favoring either classical‐ or alternative‐NHEJ. The hypotheses have some limitations, but if validated, will enable scientists to better control indel makeup, holding promise for basic science and clinical applications of gene editing. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/vTkJtUsLi3w     

Cas12n nucleases,early evolutionary intermediates of type V CRISPR,comprise a distinct family of miniature genome editors

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运用CRISPR/Cas9技术构建表达10rolGLP-1的降糖酵母

为研发一种用于治疗2型糖尿病的新型生物药物,本研究运用实验室前期构建的10rolglp-1基因和CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术创建了重组酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)工程菌株。构建了向导RNA(guide RNA,gRNA)表达载体pyES2-gRNA、供体载体pNK1-L-PGK-10rolGLP-1-R和Cas9表达载体pGADT7-Cas9,将这些表达载体共转化酿酒酵母INVSc1菌株,通过同源重组途径敲入PGK-10rolGLP-1表达单元,最终得到具有降血糖功能、高表达10rolGLP-1的酿酒酵母。通过SDS-PAGE和蛋白质印迹,筛选出2种稳定表达10rolGLP-1的酿酒酵母重组菌株。降血糖实验结果表明,重组降血糖酿酒酵母对糖尿病小鼠模型具有显著的降血糖作用,其血糖下降平缓,可避免引起低血糖风险。体重变化和多尿等其他症状也明显改善,表明本研究构建的口服降血糖酿酒酵母有望成为一种简单有效、经济实用的糖尿病生物药物。     

Functional validation of cadherin as a receptor of Bt toxin Cry1Ac in Helicoverpa armigera utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system

Cadherins have been identified as receptors of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1A toxins in several lepidopteran insects including the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Disruption of the cadherin gene HaCad has been genetically linked to resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac in H. armigera. By using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9), HaCad from the Cry1Ac-susceptible SCD strain of H. armigera was successfully knocked out. A single positive CRISPR event with a frame shift deletion of 4 nucleotides was identified and made homozygous to create a knockout line named SCD-Cad. Western blotting confirmed that HaCad was no longer expressed in the SCD-Cad line while an intact HaCad of 210 kDa was present in the parental SCD strain. Insecticide bioassays were used to show that SCD-Cad exhibited 549-fold resistance to Cry1Ac compared with SCD, but no significant change in susceptibility to Cry2Ab. Our results not only provide strong reverse genetics evidence for HaCad as a functional receptor of Cry1Ac, but also demonstrate that the CRISPR/Cas9 technique can act as a powerful and efficient genome editing tool to study gene function in a global agricultural pest, H. armigera.