The Fall 2016 edition of Current Topics in Genomics will meet on December 15, 2016, 2pm in room 260 Loftsgard Hall.
Once genome has been sequenced and the gene models are described, the next step is to describe the function of the gene models. This is the realm of functional genomics. One manner in which function can be applied is through reverse genetics were a gene is mutated and the effects of that mutation are analyzed at the phenotypic level. That latest tool, and possible the most impactful tool, is the CRISPR-Cas9 system from the bacterial species Streptococcus pyogenes. That system will be the focus of this edition of Current Topics in Genomics.
First, you need to become familiar with the system. A great resource is the following video that presents the basic concepts underlying the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Watch this video, carefully, and probably multiple times, as a basic introduction. The video features Jennifer Doudna one of the discovers of the system in bacteria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuAxDVBt7kQ
For more details, you are assigned one of the following two articles to read. Again, you are to work as a team. The members of the teams are listed in parentheses following the title of the article. Why these articles? Well, the CRISPR/Cas-9 discovery is being hotly disputed between the University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each review is by one of the two teams involved in the claim.
Doudna and Charpentier (2014) The New Frontier of Genome Engineering With CRISPR-Cas9 (Nick Dusek, Shuangfeng Ren)
Hsu et al (2014) Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Engineering (Sudeshi Seneviratne, Mingyi Zhang)
During the class session, each group will discuss the following.
1. The underlying technology of the CRISPR-Cas9 system as described in the Doudna and Charpentier (2014) The New Frontiers… article. (Dusek and Ren Group)
2. The applications of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in eukaryotes as described in the Hsu et al (2014) Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9… article. (Seneviratne and Zhang Group)
Again working as a group, you are to next read two articles that describe the application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Remember this is a summary of the major problem being addressed, the methodologies used, the results the authors obtained, and how they demonstrated that the CRISPR-Cas9 system worked. Those articles are:
Dusek and Ren Group
Shalem et al (2014) Genome-Scale CRISPR-Cas9 Knockout Screening in Human Cells
Wang et al (2014) Genetic Screens in Human Cells Using the CRISPR-Cas9 System
Seneviratne and Zhang Group
Pyott et al (2016) Engineering of CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Potyvirus Resistance in Transgene-Free Arabidopsis Plants
Zhang et al (2016) Efficient and Transgene –Free Genome Editing in Wheat Through Transient Expression of CRISPR/Cas9 DNA or RNA
Finally everyone is to read the following article that describes the patent landscape surrounding this potentially very lucrative discovery. We will discuss this as a group. Everyone is expected to bring questions from this paper. The paper is:
Egelie et al (2016) The Emerging Patent Landscape of CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing Technology
See you on December 15, 2016 at 2pm in Loftsgard Hall, 260!!