Will CRISPR cas9 rule the world ?

-
CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications.
It is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation and is therefore causing a buzz in the science world.
The CRISPR-Cas9 system consists of two key molecules that introduce a change (mutation) into the DNA. These are:
an enzyme called Cas9. This acts as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ that can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed.
a piece of RNA called guide RNA (gRNA). This consists of a small piece of pre-designed RNA sequence (about 20 bases long) located within a longer RNA scaffold. The scaffold part binds to DNA and the pre-designed sequence ‘guides’ Cas9 to the right part of the genome. This makes sure that the Cas9 enzyme cuts at the right point in the genome.
The guide RNA is designed to find and bind to a specific sequence in the DNA. The guide RNA has RNA bases that are complementary to those of the target DNA sequence in the genome. This means that, at least in theory, the guide RNA will only bind to the target sequence and no other regions of the genome.
The Cas9 follows the guide RNA to the same location in the DNA sequence and makes a cut across both strands of the DNA.
At this stage the cell recognises that the DNA is damaged and tries to repair it.
Scientists can use the DNA repair machinery to introduce changes to one or more genes in the genome of a cell of interest.Some bacteria have a similar, built-in, gene editing system to the CRISPR-Cas9 system that they use to respond to invading pathogens like viruses  much like an immune system.
Using CRISPR the bacteria snip out parts of the virus DNA and keep a bit of it behind to help them recognise and defend against the virus next time it attacks.
Scientists adapted this system so that it could be used in other cells from animals, including mice and humans.
Over the years scientists have learned about genetics? and gene function by studying the effects of changes in DNA.
If you can create a change in a gene, either in a cell line or a whole organism, it is possible to then study the effect of that change to understand what the function of that gene is.
For a long time geneticists used chemicals or radiation to cause mutations. However, they had no way of controlling where in the genome the mutation would occur.
For several years scientists have been using ‘gene targeting’ to introduce changes in specific places in the genome, by removing or adding either whole genes or single bases.
Traditional gene targeting has been very valuable for studying genes and genetics, however it takes a long time to create a mutation and is fairly expensive.
Several ‘gene editing’ technologies have recently been developed to improve gene targeting methods, including CRISPR-Cas systems, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs).
The CRISPR-Cas9 system currently stands out as the fastest, cheapest and most reliable system for ‘editing’ genes.It is likely to be many years before CRISPR-Cas9 is used routinely in humans.
Much research is still focusing on its use in animal models or isolated human cells, with the aim to eventually use the technology to routinely treat diseases in humans.
There is a lot of work focusing on eliminating ‘off-target’ effects, where the CRISPR-Cas9 system cuts at a different gene to the one that was intended to be edited.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

China's First ever CRISPR Cas9 system Patent!

-
Image
Hi Folks!! Follow our blog on  Instagram China’s patent and trademark office has upheld a key patent within the portfolio of CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property belonging to Nobel Laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier, The Regents of the University of California, and University of Vienna (known collectively as CVC), and licensed for commercial use through ERS Genomics. Dublin-based ERS Genomics said the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has upheld Patent No. CN201380038920.6, “Methods and Compositions for RNA-guided Target DNA Modification and for RNA-guided Transcription Regulation”. ToolGen claims that it was the  world’s first  filer of patents covering gene editing in eukaryotic cells using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. “The decision by the CNIPA fully upholding the patent further demonstrates its validity and value as part of the patent collection for use of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology,” ERS Genomics stated in announcing the Chinese decision recently. The CVC patents ha
Read more

XPOSAT - STUDY ABOUT BLACKHOLE(A GIST)

-
Image
Hi Folks!! Follow our blog on Instagram  LAB IN THE BOX XPOSAT - STUDY ABOUT BLACKHOLE (A GIST) Last year was a huge success with Chandrayaan-3. Our ISRO Scientist did a lot of unexpected acts and surprised us all. On January 1st, when this year started, India has proved to be a leading country in the world, not only on land, but also in the sky.  There are a lot of things in our universe that we don't understand. One thing that we don't understand is black holes. These black holes exist in a lot of places in space. From the fact that we are in a black hole, to the fact that all the earth and sun will disappear one day in a black hole, this is something that we don't understand. From the biggest scientist to the modern technology scientist, everyone is looking at this black hole as a mystery. To study this, India has launched a special Mission on January 1st named XPoSat( X-ray Polarimeter Satellite). On January 1st, India launched 10 different satellites throug
Read more

History of Biotechnology

-
Image
HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: People have been harnessing biological processes to improve their quality of life for some 10,000 years, beginning with the first agricultural communities. Approximately 6,000 years ago, humans began to tap the biological processes of microorganisms in order to make bread, alcoholic beverages, and cheese and to preserve dairy products. But such processes are not what is meant today by biotechnology, a term first widely applied to the molecular and cellular technologies that began to emerge in the 1960s and ’70s. A fledgling “biotech” industry began to coalesce in the mid- to late 1970s, led by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company established in 1976 by Robert A. Swanson and Herbert W. Boyer to commercialize the recombinant DNA technology pioneered by Boyer, Paul Berg, and Stanley N. Cohen. Early companies such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus, and Genex began by manufacturing genetically engineered substances primarily for medical and environmental uses. For
Read more