CRISPR, an acronym for clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats, is a gene-editing technology that helps in modifying genes. The genome-editing tool - which allows for specific DNA changes in humans, animals and plants - is much faster and easier to use when compared with previous approaches.
Scientists at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) have now developed a process that improves the efficiency of CRISPR.
"Scientists all over the world are using CRISPR right now in their studies, but the technology is not as functional as it could be," said Haoquan Wu, Ph.D., who worked on the process and is a biomedical scientist at TTUHSC El Paso.
CRISPR specifically refers to a unique organization of short, repeated DNA sequences located in the genomes of bacteria and other microorganisms. These sequences are a crucial component in the immune system of these simple life forms. For instance, while the immune system's role is to protect the body, bacterial cells can be invaded by viruses. However, CRISPR works to disrupt attacks on the virus' genome, preventing these cells from replicating and a possible viral infection.
CRISPR has two key components when it comes to modifying genes, including enzyme Cas9, which makes it possible to cut DNA, and single guide RNA that directs Cas9 to the portion of the DNA strain that can be snipped so the unwanted section is deactivated. However, even with this groundbreaking technology, there are sometimes difficulties deleting genes.
"I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with CRISPR as it is, but I would say that there's a lot of room for improvement since it's a new technology," said Wu.
During their research, the scientists specifically tried to target and eliminate genes. Just by tweaking a sequence of the single guide RNA template, they were able to knockout efficiency of greater than 50 percent.
"The extent of the improvement in knockout efficiency with these changes was striking," said Wu. "This is going to help reduce concerns that knockout experiments might not work, and also significantly increase the efficiency of more challenging editing procedures like gene deletion."
The research is published in the journal Genome Biology.
