CRISPR holds future of gene-editing; Technology creates ability to alter genomes

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CRISPR concludes that the process should follow the steps of disrupt, delete, and correct. The technology has the capabilities of finding the gene that will be removed, making the cut, and naturally correcting the gene.

GREER STRINE, Sports Editor

The process of gene-editing has been something appearing in movies for ages, as a farfetched idea. However, CRISPR/Cas9 allows this.

     CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. Sophomore Stella Manns said, “I think this idea seems very modern and futuristic. It is crazy to think that there are scientists who have worked to create such technology that allows this big of a genetic change.”

     According to medlineplus.gov, “CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria. The bacteria capture snippets of DNA from invading viruses and use them to create DNA segments known as CRISPR arrays. The CRISPR arrays allow the bacteria to “remember” the viruses (or closely related ones). If the viruses attack again, the bacteria produce RNA segments from the CRISPR arrays to target the viruses’ DNA. The bacteria then use Cas9 or a similar enzyme to cut the DNA apart, which disables the virus.”

     Crisprtx.com stated that the process consists of cutting DNA and then letting the natural process repair the DNA. They added, “CRISPR-associated (Cas) endonuclease, or enzyme, that acts as “molecular scissors” to cut DNA at a location specified by a guide RNA.” They added, “a type of RNA molecule that binds to Cas9 and specifies, based on the sequence of the gRNA, the location at which Cas9 will cut DNA.”

 

     “For genetically defined diseases, [scientists] can use a guide RNA that directs Cas9 to cut DNA at a specific site in a disease-causing gene, or at a different site, such as a region that regulates genes, to ameliorate the genetic defect through gene disruption or correction. [Scientists] may edit cells either ex vivo (outside the body) or in vivo (inside the body),” crisprtx.com stated.

     “I am very hopeful for what this can bring to the future of medicine. However, I am a little bit frightened that technology is advancing so quickly, that we can start altering your genes,” Newton said. “You are made up of DNA and if we can already change what your genetic makeup is, that is crazy. It makes me feel like technological advances like this could be leading factors into technology taking over the world some day.”

    Yourgeome.org stated,  “An enzyme called Cas9. This acts as a pair of ‘molecular scissors’ that can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed.”

      “A piece of RNA called  guide RNA (gRNA). This consists of a small piece of pre-designed RNA sequence (about 20 bases long) located within a longer RNA scaffold. The scaffold part binds to DNA and the pre-designed sequence ‘guides’ Cas9 to the right part of the genome. This makes sure that the Cas9 enzyme cuts at the right point in the genome,” yourgenome.org added.

    “The guide RNA is designed to find and bind to a specific sequence in the DNA. The guide RNA has RNA bases that are complementary to those of the target DNA sequence in the genome. This means that–at least in theory–the guide RNA will only bind to the target sequence and no other regions of the genome,” according to the website.

     “The Cas9 follows the guide RNA to the same location in the DNA sequence and makes a cut across both strands of the DNA. At this stage the cell recognizes that the DNA is damaged and tries to repair it. “Scientists can use the DNA repair machinery to introduce changes to one or more genes? in the genome of a cell of interest,” yourgenome.org said.

     The junior expressed that before releasing this in any stage to the public can be risky. [She] believes that there should be extensive tests done to ensure the safety of this technology. Especially because this sort of thing can create a lot of false hope, so [she] thinks that the testing stages should be lengthy and conclusive enough to decide whether or not to be released as a treatment option. 

     I think this should definitely be readily available to the public,” Manns says. “It seems that it has the potential to be life changing, especially in cases where there are mutations or genes that can cause diseases or even cancer. There are so many people suffering of things that are just in their genes, in which they cannot control, and I think this would make a huge impact on many people’s lives.”

     Junior Abby Newton said, “I think this can be very helpful. My first thoughts of who this could impact were cancer patients, and also people with mental health disorders because like cancer, they can be passed down through genes.”