Recent innovations in gene editing technologies have made significant impacts in the areas of biology and medicine. Gene editing makes it possible for scientists to manipulate DNA sequences and control the function of genes. CRISPR-Cas9 is currently the most powerful and notable gene editing tool that focuses on the precise excision of specific DNA sequences. Technologies in genetic engineering such as CRISPR have made breakthroughs such as the power to reverse mutations that cause diseases.
An overview of the Genetic Manipulation Techniques
Genetic manipulation is the process by which specific alterations can be made to the DNA sequence of a genome. The keyword “gene editing technologies” is used to describe techniques that enable scientists and researchers to change genes in the DNA of an organism. The main objective of gene editing is to introduce positive changes to DNA or modify the action of a gene to achieve a particular result.
Scientists have invented several gene editing technologies in the last few decades. These tools provide scientists with the remarkable opportunity to make precise and deliberate alterations effectively to genomes of cells and organisms. In this article, the focus will be on introducing the most influential gene editing techniques that revolutionized the biological sciences.
Early Gene Editing Technologies
First-generation gene editing tools allowed the addition of new DNA code at any desired position within the genome. Some of the techniques include retroviral vectors and classical transgenesis or homologous recombination using restriction enzymes and DNA ligases. Nevertheless, those first-generation methods were not sufficient to provide the level of accuracy required for genomic editing.
Scientists then created the engineered site-specific nucleases that could create the precise DSB’s. DSBs trigger the cell’s DNA repair mechanisms (non-homologous end joining and homology-directed repair) to allow the insertion of the desired changes either from the endogenous or exogenous sources with the aid of a repair template.
Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs) are two types of TALENs which are manipulative site specific nucleases used in gene editing technologies. Both can be designed and tailored to create DSBs at specific regions of a genome of an organism.
The Advent of CRISPR-Cas9
However, it is the CRISPR-Cas system that facilitated new generations of gene editing technologies because of its efficiency, inexpensiveness, versatility, and accuracy. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) refers to sequences in bacterial DNA that combat infections. In 2012-2013, researchers found that the Cas9 endonuclease of the CRISPR-Cas system could be used to create sequence-specific DSBs in eukaryotic cells for the purpose of gene editing.
In comparison with ZFNs and TALENs, CRISPR-Cas9 systems are faster, cheaper and less complex to program for targeting any specific site of interest. It has been proven rather efficient in altering the DNA sequence across different species of organisms. The revolutionary potential of CRISPR in the biomedical sciences and genetic engineering made this Nobel Prize-winning technology globally known.
Existing and Advanced Gene Editing Techniques
Gene editing technologies using CRISPR-Cas9 systems remain refined with base and prime editing . These can allow for fine tuning of specific DNA nucleotides without the requirement to cause double stranded breaks or use donor templates. Researchers are also working on other approaches such as anti-CRISPR proteins which will help to make CRISPR more manageable and adaptable.
Additional emerging techniques include:
– Cas9 orthologs that can be used to integrate large pieces of DNA into target genomes.
– Other types of editing systems such as the CRISPR-X that can edit multiple sites at once.
– Methods of delivering these editing components into cells that are challenging to transfect, such as viral vectors.
Solutions of Gene Editing
Gene editing puts in the hands of researchers an organization’s genetic blueprint to an extent that was never before possible. Gene editing technologies like CRISPR enable diverse applications including:Gene editing technologies like CRISPR enable diverse applications including:
– Repairing the defective genes that lead to inherited diseases and disorders
– Modifying microbial genes to synthesize biofuels or valuable metabolites
– Knocking specific genes through edits to study gene function
– Introducing desirable characteristics into crop plants and animals for increased food production
– Extermination of insects by developing gene drives
– As the genetic basis of the diseases is better understood thanks to the advanced gene editing technologies, the scientists apply monkeys and mice, for instance, to work on the disease models that are closer to the actual human forms of the diseases.
The ability to control and remodel genomes in terms of gene editing technologies is full of promise. But it has also triggered technological, ethical, regulatory and societal issues that are still being discussed on this emerging discipline.
Conclusion
The term ‘gene editing technologies’ spans innovative tools such as ZFNs, TALENs and more significantly, the CRISPR-Cas9 which offers the revolutionary advantage of making accurate modifications to the DNA sequence of an organism. These technologies open new horizons in the biomedical field ranging from genetic mutation corrections that cause diseases to agricultural and biotechnological uses.
Advanced and efficient techniques such as CRISPR are changing biology today in a way that no other scientific discovery has ever done before. They foresay vast possibilities ranging from designing improved disease cures to influencing evolution on a worldwide basis. As these rapidly advancing gene editing technologies continue to remold the genomic landscape over the next decades, it will be crucial to adequately deal with its multifaceted issues in terms of monitoring and utilization.
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