Scientists of Indian origin develop breakthrough technology in CRISPR genome engineering
Two scientists of Indian origin, Dr Channabasavaiah B Gurumurthy (Guru) and Rolen M Quadros, working currently at the University of Nebraska medical center, Omaha, USA, in collaboration with a team in Japan, have achieved a breakthrough by developing what they call the Easi-CRISPR method which has the potential to revolutionize the speed at which mutant mouse models are created for biomedical research.
This work was published in Genome Biology journal on May 17, 2017. We have 20,000 genes in our body and each has its own specific function. One way to figure out how genes function, is by deleting individual genes from mice and observing how this gene-loss impacts them.
Scientists have learnt the function of around 5000 genes this way, but are yet to understand the function of over 15,000 genes.
CRISPR was a groundbreaking advance, developed in early 2103, allowing scientists to “cut” individual genes from a genome as a replacement for creating “knockout” models. Traditional genetic engineering methods take about 1 to 2 years to create one gene mutant mouse model. In contrast, CRISPR technology can generate several models in just a few weeks.
But creating more complicated genetic models – which comprise over 90 percent of animal models needed by scientists – still proved inefficient, challenging and expensive.The Easi-CRISPR method allows researchers to create these much-needed animal models at previously unheard of rates.
Dr Gurumurthy said several independent labs have already been able to reproduce Easi-CRISPR study’s results, thanks to its early online posting on the preprint server BiorXiv
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The mouse models developed using approaches like Easi-CRISPR should help scientists study the role of genes and mutations in human diseases, develop new drugs and treatments for various human diseases including diabetes and cancer.