Genetic Engineering Tool: CRISPR-cas9

Iris Zheng

Genome engineering is a branch of biology that deals with the manipulation of nucleic acids in order to express a trait of interest. CRISPR-cas9 is a form of adaptive immune system found in bacterial cells. The system recognizes viral DNA and creates a double strand cut of the DNA backbone inorder to deactivate the viral DNA. Currently, CRISPR-cas9 has been transformed into an effective lab tool by disabling its cleaving mechanism and leaving only the recognition portion of the system, allowing researchers to locate genes of their interest. Base editor was created by engineering CRISPR-cas9 so it replaces one nucleotide instead of cleaving the backbones, which reduces the risk of mutations. CRISPR-cas9 has also been used as a potential treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) related disease by destroying the gene responsible for creating the receptor protein on HIV-targeted cells. In the future, the CRISPR-cas9 system can be used to model the cause of different illnesses, allowing researchers to develop effective treatments for those illnesses. CRISPR-cas9 can potentially be used as treatments for genetic diseases untreatable by conventional drugs. I plan on continuing with Ingenuity’s Research Practicum and hope to find a mentor so I can continue studying the implementation of genetically engineered substances as a treatment for different illnesses.