Abstract

The CRISPR-Cas system is an adaptive immune system found in bacteria which helps protect against the invasion of other microorganisms. This system induces double stranded breaks at precise genomic loci (1) in which repairs are initiated and insertions of a target are completed in the process. This mechanism can be used in eukaryotic cells in combination with sgRNAs (1) as a tool for genome editing. By using this CRISPR-Cas system, in addition to the “safe harbor locus,” ROSAβ26, the incorporation of a target gene into a site that is not susceptible to gene silencing effects can be achieved through few simple steps. PCR amplification of the target genes , ROSA26 and mKate2, with a sgRNA scaffold and T7 promoter followed by in vitro transcription aim to produce an RNA product. This sgRNA product can be run through a digestion with Cas9 to validate cleavage of the genomic ROSA DNA template or mKate plasmid. Osteoblast mouse cells are transfected and labeled through partial uptake by the CRISPR mechanism, by cutting in the ROSA loci and repairing with pieces of the fluorescent mKate2 plasmid. These cells were measured via flow cytometry to give a percentage of red cells. This data shows the scaffolding construct created is targeted by the Cas9 endonuclease and through homologous repair the cells will incorporate the mKate2 target gene in vitro in MC3T3 mouse cells.

Disciplines

Animals | Bacteria | Biotechnology | Cell Biology | Computational Biology | Genetics | Genomics | Integrative Biology | Molecular Genetics | Other Cell and Developmental Biology | Other Genetics and Genomics

Mentor

Gabriela G Loots and Nick Hum

Lab site

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

Funding Acknowledgement

Acknowledgements This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program under Grant No. 1240040. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This project has been made possible with support from Chevron. The STAR program is facilitated by the Cal Poly Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME) on behalf of the California State University (CSU). This work was preformed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 LLNL-POST-699342

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