Variants of the gene scissors CRISPR/Cpf1, also known as CRISPR/Cas12a, from different types of bacteria were used in this study to simultaneously change several different genes in rice. This process is known as multiplexing. The scientists tested different strategies to alter as many genes as possible. A variant of the bacterium M. bovoculi, Mb2Cas12a, was […]
In this study, traits associated with domestication, such as the shattering and the length of the awns, were changed in a “wild” rice species that has a four-fold set of chromosomes, i.e. a tetraploid rice. Currently widely cultivated rice varieties have only two sets of chromosomes and are therefore diploid. The advantage of an increased […]
The authors of the study discuss the problem of the traceability of genome-edited plants that contain only small changes in their genome, such as point mutations, small insertions or deletions. The study explains which information is necessary to detect genome-edited plants and to identify products. It also presents sources of information that may contain relevant […]
Aim of the study and some background information The authors have developed an in silico analysis method called PEM-Q, which evaluates data from genome-wide examinations of genome-edited cells in such a way that all changes in the DNA induced by CRISPR/Cas can be detected. This includes both changes to the target sequence and changes to […]
The study discusses the importance of metabolomics techniques for the assessment of plants that have been altered by genome editing techniques. Metabolomics methods make it possible to analyze changes in metabolic products (= metabolites) in cells. Explanation of some biological principles The DNA of higher living beings is located in the cell nucleus and contains […]
Basics of the internal clock in mammals All higher living beings have a circadian rhythm, i.e. an internal biological clock that has adapted to the day-night cycle on Earth and has a period length of approximately 24 hours. The circadian rhythm controls many physiological processes and determines the behavior of an organism. In mammals, for […]
Background and objectives of the study Scientists at the Institute for Farm Animal Genetics at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany have used the CRISPR/Cas9 to genome edit pigs so that they develop female reproductive organs even though they have a male set of chromosomes. The authors state that their results can be used to avoid […]
Background – epigenetics The field of epigenetics deals with hereditary changes that do not change the DNA sequence itself. Epigenetic markers determine which genes are activated or silenced in certains cells and tissues, so they influence gene expression. Thus, the basic structure of the DNA remains unchanged. Epigenetic markers are biochemical appendages of DNA. Epigenetics […]
CRISPR/Cas9 was supposed to be used in this study to change a mutation in human embryos that cause a genetic disease. This disease is mediated by a mutation in the EYS gene and causes blindness (retinitis pigmentosa, retinal degeneration). The scientists envisaged that CRISPR/Cas9 causes a double-strand break (DSB) within the mutated EYS gene of […]
Double-strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA occur naturally in every organism (microoorganisms, plants, animals, humans) and are mended by the cell’s own repair mechanisms. The original state before the DNA damage can be restored or the genome can be changed at that particular region, i.e. the introduction of small insertions, deletions or point mutations. In addition […]
