CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology and its application to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
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Neda maserat,1,* Roghayeh Gholizadeh Doran Mahalleh,2
1. General Office of Standards of Sistan and Baluchestan Province
2. Islamic Azad University, Zahedan Branch
- Introduction: CRISPR gene editing is a genetic engineering technique in molecular biology by which the genomes of living organisms may be modified. It is based on a simplified version of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 antiviral defense system. By delivering the Cas9 nuclease complexed with a synthetic guide RNA (gRNA) into a cell, the cell's genome can be cut at a desired location, allowing existing genes to be removed and/or new ones added in vivo (in living organisms).
Clustered-Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), and CRISPR associated (Cas) protein (CRISPR/Cas) structures were first identified in E. coli in 1987 and guard prokaryotic cells from any invading pathogens, harmful events and plasmids by recognizing and cutting foreign nucleic acid sequences that contain short palindromic repeats spacer sequences. Several genome editing approaches have been developed based on these mechanisms; the most recent is known as CRISPR/Cas. Before the CRISPR technique was revealed in 2012, editing the genomes of plants and animals took many years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Methods: By reviewing the latest scientific articles, the PubMed site and scientific books have been collected.
- Results: CRISPR/Cas has attracted significant interest in the scientific community, especially for disease diagnosis and treatment, as it is quicker, less expensive and more precise than other genome editing approaches. The evidence from gene mutations in specific patients generated using CRISPR/Cas can assist in the prediction of the optimal treatment schedule for individual patients and for innovation purposes in other researches like replication in cell culture of coronaviruses like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2 or COVID-19).
- Conclusion: CRISPR gene editing is considered highly significant in biotechnology and medicine as it allows for the genomes to be edited in vivo with extremely high precision, cheaply and with ease. It can be used in the creation of new medicines, agricultural products, and genetically modified organisms, or as a means of controlling pathogens and pests. It also has possibilities in the treatment of inherited genetic diseases as well as diseases arising from somatic mutations such as cancer.
- Keywords: CRISPR gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9, guide RNA (gRNA), COVID-19, replication
