Project description:Aedes (Ae.) aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes transmit arthropod-borne diseases around the globe, causing ~ 700,000 deaths each year. Genetic mutants are valuable tools to interrogate both fundamental vector biology and mosquito host factors important for viral infection. However, very few genetic mutants have been described in mosquitoes in comparison to model organisms. The relative ease of applying CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing has transformed genome engineering and has rapidly increased the number of available gene mutants in mosquitoes. Yet, in vivo studies may not be practical for screening large sets of mutants or possible for laboratories that lack insectaries. Thus, it would be useful to adapt CRISPR/Cas9 systems to common mosquito cell lines. In this study, we generated and characterized a mosquito optimized, plasmid-based CRISPR/Cas9 system for use in U4.4 (Ae. albopictus) and Aag2 (Ae. aegypti) cell lines. We demonstrated highly efficient editing of the AGO1 locus and isolated U4.4 and Aag2 cell lines with reduced AGO1 expression. Further, we used homology-directed repair to establish knock-in Aag2 cell lines with a 3xFLAG-tag at the N-terminus of endogenous AGO1. These experimentally verified plasmids are versatile, cost-effective, and efficiently edit immune competent mosquito cell lines that are widely used in arbovirus studies.
Project description:Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have become indispensable for disease modelling. They are an important resource to access patient cells harbouring disease-causing mutations. Derivation of midbrain dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons from hiPSCs of PD patients represents the only option to model physiological processes in a cell type that is not otherwise accessible from human patients. However, differentiation does not produce a homogenous population of DA neurons and contaminant cell types may interfere with the readout of the in vitro system. Here, we use CRISPR/Cas9 to generate novel knock-in reporter lines for DA neurons, engineered with an endogenous fluorescent tyrosine hydroxylase - enhanced green fluorescent protein (TH-eGFP) reporter. We present a reproducible knock-in strategy combined with a highly specific homologous directed repair (HDR) screening approach using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR). The knock-in cell lines that we created show a functioning fluorescent reporter system for DA neurons that are identifiable by flow cytometry.
Project description:In 90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases, genetic alteration of the proto-oncogene Kras has occurred, leading to uncontrolled proliferation of cancerous cells. Targeting Kras has proven to be difficult and the battle against pancreatic cancer is ongoing. A promising approach to combat cancer was the discovery of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) system, which can be used to genetically modify cells. To assess the potential of a CRISPR/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) method to eliminate Kras mutations in cells, we aimed to knock-out the c.35G>A (p.G12D) Kras mutation. Therefore, three cell lines with a heterozygous Kras mutation (the human cell lines SUIT-2 and Panc-1 and the cell line TB32047 from a KPC mouse model) were used. After transfection, puromycin selection and single-cell cloning, proteins from two negative controls and five to seven clones were isolated to verify the knock-out and to analyze changes in key signal transduction proteins. Western blots showed a specific knock-out in the KrasG12D protein, but wildtype Kras was expressed by all of the cells. Signal transduction analysis (for Erk, Akt, Stat3, AMPKα, and c-myc) revealed expression levels similar to the wildtype. The results described herein indicate that knocking-out the KrasG12D mutation by CRISPR/Cas9 is possible. Additionally, under regular growth conditions, the knock-out clones resembled wildtype cells.
Project description:Genetic erosion refers to the loss of genetic variation in a crop. In China, only a few original landraces of rice (Oryza sativa) were used in breeding and these became the primary genetic background of modern varieties. Expanding the genetic diversity among Chinese rice varieties and cultivating high-yielding and high-quality varieties with resistance to different biotic and abiotic stresses is critical. Here, we used the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein9(Cas9) genome editing system to edit Semi-Dwarf1 (SD1) in the elite landraces Kasalath and TeTePu (TTP), which contain many desired agronomic traits such as tolerance to low phosphorous and broad-spectrum resistance to several diseases and insects. Mutations of SD1 confer shorter plant height for better resistance to lodging. Field trials demonstrated that the yield of the new Kasalath and TTP mutant lines was better than that of the wild type under modern cultivation and that the lines maintained the same desirable agronomic characteristics as their wild-type progenitors. Our results showed that breeding using available landraces in combination with genomic data of different landraces and gene-editing techniques is an effective way to relieve genetic erosion in modern rice varieties.
Project description:An important advantage of delivering CRISPR reagents into cells as a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex is the ability to edit genes without reagents being integrated into the genome. Transient presence of RNP molecules in cells can reduce undesirable off-target effects. One method for RNP delivery into plant cells is the use of a biolistic gun. To facilitate selection of transformed cells during RNP delivery, a plasmid carrying a selectable marker gene can be co-delivered with the RNP to enrich for transformed/edited cells. In this work, we compare targeted mutagenesis in rice using three different delivery platforms: biolistic RNP/DNA co-delivery; biolistic DNA delivery; and Agrobacterium-mediated delivery. All three platforms were successful in generating desired mutations at the target sites. However, we observed a high frequency (over 14%) of random plasmid or chromosomal DNA fragment insertion at the target sites in transgenic events generated from both biolistic delivery platforms. In contrast, integration of random DNA fragments was not observed in transgenic events generated from the Agrobacterium-mediated method. These data reveal important insights that must be considered when selecting the method for genome-editing reagent delivery in plants, and emphasize the importance of employing appropriate molecular screening methods to detect unintended alterations following genome engineering.
Project description:CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used to generate knock-out cancer cell lines. An insertion or deletion induced by a single guide RNA (gRNA) is often used to generate knock-out cells, however, some cells express the target gene by skipping the disrupted exon, or by using a splicing variant, thus losing the target exon. To overcome this unexpected expression of the target gene, almost the entire gene can be swapped with a selection marker. However, it is time-consuming to create a targeting vector which contains 5' and 3' homology arms flanked by a selection marker. Here, we developed a simple and easy method called SUCCESS (Single-strand oligodeoxynucleotides, Universal Cassette, and CRISPR/Cas9 produce Easy Simple knock-out System), to knock-out a target gene without constructing a targeting vector. Our method removed the targeted large genomic region by using two pX330 plasmids encoding Cas9 and gRNA, two 80mer single strand oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODN), and a blunt-ended universal selection maker sequence in B16F10 murine cancer cell and ID8 murine ovarian cancer cell. SUCCESS generated knock-out clones in two murine cancer cell lines by homozygous deletion of the target genomic region, and without constructing targeting vectors. Thus, our method can be widely applied to generate homozygous knock-out cell lines, as well as knock-in cell lines.
Project description:Quickly and precisely gain genetically enhanced breeding elites with value-adding performance traits is desired by the crop breeders all the time. The present of gene editing technologies, especially the CRISPR/Cas9 system with the capacities of efficiency, versatility and multiplexing provides a reasonable expectation towards breeding goals. For exploiting possible application to accelerate the speed of process at breeding by CRISPR/Cas9 technology, in this study, the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system transformation method was used for obtaining tomato ALC gene mutagenesis and replacement, in absence and presence of the homologous repair template. The average mutation frequency (72.73%) and low replacement efficiency (7.69%) were achieved in T0 transgenic plants respectively. None of homozygous mutation was detected in T0 transgenic plants, but one plant carry the heterozygous genes (Cas9/*-ALC/alc) was stably transmitted to T1 generations for segregation and genotyping. Finally, the desired alc homozygous mutants without T-DNA insertion (*/*-alc/alc) in T1 generations were acquired and further confirmed by genotype and phenotype characterization, with highlight of excellent storage performance, thus the recessive homozygous breeding elites with the character of long-shelf life were generated. Our results support that CRISPR/Cas9-induced gene replacement via HDR provides a valuable method for breeding elite innovation in tomato.
Project description:In humans, disruptions in the heme biosynthetic pathway are associated with various types of porphyrias, including variegate porphyria that results from the decreased activity of protoporphyrinogen oxidase IX (PPO; E.C.1.3.3.4), the enzyme catalyzing the penultimate step of the heme biosynthesis. Here we report the generation and characterization of human cell lines, in which PPO was inactivated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The PPO knock-out (PPO-KO) cell lines are viable with the normal proliferation rate and show massive accumulation of protoporphyrinogen IX, the PPO substrate. Observed low heme levels trigger a decrease in the amount of functional heme containing respiratory complexes III and IV and overall reduced oxygen consumption rates. Untargeted proteomics further revealed dysregulation of 22 cellular proteins, including strong upregulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase, the major regulatory protein of the heme biosynthesis, as well as additional ten targets with unknown association to heme metabolism. Importantly, knock-in of PPO into PPO-KO cells rescued their wild-type phenotype, confirming the specificity of our model. Overall, our model system exploiting a non-erythroid human U-2 OS cell line reveals physiological consequences of the PPO ablation at the cellular level and can serve as a tool to study various aspects of dysregulated heme metabolism associated with variegate porphyria.