Basics of genome structure Most of the DNA in eukaryotes, i.e. animals, plants and fungi, is present in stranded chromosomes. These consist of chromatin, which is DNA wrapped many times around histone proteins, and other DNA-binding proteins. In chromatin, DNA is shortened many times, very compactly organized and also protected. The structure of the chromatin […]
Background In addition to small insertions or deletions (indels), the use of the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors can also lead to major structural changes in the DNA. These unintended changes can occur both in the target region (on-target effect) and in other DNA regions, for example, if these are very similar to the target region (off-target […]
Ecosystems – the basics In an ecosystem, species interact directly or indirectly with each other, and thus establish a complex food web. We know that some species have a disproportionally large effect on the ecosystem, and are therefore known as keystone species. At the DNA level, previous studies indicate that genotypic variations affect diversity and […]
Background Basic research and agriculture often only need single-sex offspring, e.g. for use in basic research experiments to investigate the development of sex organs. In agriculture, for instance, the dairy industry only needs female dairy cows, while the male calves are slaughtered. The meat industry, on the other hand, prefers male cattle because they produce […]
Basics of RNA interference (RNAi) and miRNAs RNA interference is a form of gene regulation that causes the down-regulation of protein production of a particular gene. RNAi is a natural mechanism and occurs in fungi, plants and animals. There are various short RNAs capable of recognizing a specific target and triggering the RNAi mechanism. These […]
Results from previous publications Previous experiments on human cell lines showed that cuts, also called double-strand breaks (DSB), caused by CRIPSR/Cas gene scissors in the genome can lead to large, unwanted DNA rearrangements (see, for example, Leibowitz et al. (2021), Zuccaro et al. (2020), Weisheit et al. (2020)): The genome of most target organisms is […]
Basics about changes to off-target and on-target sites It is known from previous studies on mice and human cell lines that the use of CRISPR/Cas gene scissors can cause unintended changes in DNA at off-target sites. Off-target sites are very similar to the target sequence, which is why the gene scissors can also cut and […]
Scientists have successfully used CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors to reduce the content of the free amino acid asparagine in wheat. Free asparagine is present in higher concentrations in wheat grain. Acrylamide can be formed from this free asparagine, together with reducing sugars, when wheat products are heated. Acrylamide has been shown to have carcinogenic properties. In […]
This study presents a new genome editing method called “Retron Library Recombineering” (RLR). The new method uses so-called retrons to induce targeted changes in the genome of bacteria. Basics about retrons Retrons occur naturally in many different bacterial strains and are part of the bacterial immune system: they protect bacteria from certain viruses, so-called bacteriophages. […]
Scientists from Imperial College London tested gene drive (GD) mosquitoes in large experimental cages and published their findings in the scientific journal, Nature Communications. The GD mosquitoes were exposed to conditions reflecting those expected in natural conditions. The mosquito populations collapsed within a year. Basics from a previous study The study tested a gene drive […]
