The CRISPR/Cas9 system has ushered in a new era of targeted genetic manipulations. Here, authors report the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to induce double-stranded breaks in the genome of the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis. They use electroporation to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 components for tissue-specific disruption of the Ebf (Collier/Olf/EBF) gene in hundreds of synchronized Ciona embryos. Phenotyping of transfected embryos in the ‘F0’ generation revealed that endogenous Ebf function is required for specification of Islet-expressing motor ganglion neurons and atrial siphon muscles. They demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 is sufficiently effective and specific to generate large numbers of embryos carrying mutations in a targeted gene of interest, which should allow for rapid screening of gene function in Ciona.
Reference:Stolfi, Alberto, et al. "Tissue-specific genome editing in Ciona embryos by CRISPR/Cas9." Development 141.21 (2014): 4115-4120.
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