New Frontiers in CRISPR

The use of CRISPR-Cas systems for genome editing has dramatically transformed the biomedical research landscape since its discovery in prokaryotic adaptive immunity. The subsequent development of CRISPR-based tools has both improved our understanding of basic biology and enabled critical advancements in human health. Recent work harnessing these diverse and rapidly growing systems to target and modify specific RNA and DNA sequences has enabled a multitude of applications, such as genome editing, transcriptional modulation, forward genetic screens, lineage tracing, and more. However, many questions remain surrounding the full potential of CRISPR-Cas systems. Learn about the latest advances in CRISPR research in this summary of our February 24, 2020 symposium.

Symposium Highlights

• CRISPR-Cas immunization requires dead phage DNA. >
• RNA-guided integration of mobile genetic elements uses CRISPR without introducing double-stranded DNA breaks. >
• Chromatin is often excluded from nuclear bodies in the cell, unlike dominant thinking that chromatin is pulled into nuclear condensates during transcription. >
• A novel pooled genetic screen revealed a new Cas9 variant that has improved gene activation at a variety of target sites. >
• Perturb-seq, which combines single-cell RNA sequencing with CRISPR-induced genetic perturbations, uncovers gene pairs that induce phenotypes like cell differentiation. >
• CRISPR perturbation of schizophrenia-related genes shows that genes modulated in concert, but not individually, mimic postmortem brain analyses of schizophrenic patients. >
• In vivo CRISPR screening has identified new cancer immunotherapy targets. >
• Combining large-scale human RNA sequencing datasets with experimental validation has enabled the discovery of an autoimmune disease-associated locus. >