Researchers from Harvard University’s Wyss Technical Institute were biologically inspired Made The new gene editing tool allows scientists to run millions of genetic experiments simultaneously. They call it Retron Library Recombineering (RLR) technology, and it uses bits of bacterial DNA called retons that can generate single-stranded bits of DNA.
When it comes to gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9 is perhaps the most popular technology today. This has made waves in the world of science in recent years, giving researchers the tools they need to be able to easily change the sequence of DNA. It is more accurate than the techniques used previously, and has variations Potential applications, Including Life-saving care For various diseases.
However, the tool has several major limitations. Shipping large quantities of CRISPR-Cas9 material can be difficult, which remains a problem for studies and experiments, for example. In addition, the way this technology works can be cytotoxic, since the Cas9 enzyme – the molecular “pruning” responsible for cutting DNA strands – often cuts off non-target sites as well.
CRISPR-Cas9 technology actually cuts DNA to insert mutated sequences into its genome during the repair process. Meanwhile, retrons can insert mutated DNA strands into duplicate cells, so that the strands can be inserted into the DNA of daughter cells. Additionally, retrons can function as “barcodes” or “business cards”, allowing scientists to track individuals in bacterial populations. This means it can be used to edit the genome without destroying the original DNA, and can be used to perform multiple experiments in one large mix.
The Wyss scientist tested the RLR Coli And the bacteria found that 90 percent of the population entered the retron sequence after some modification. They were also able to prove their usefulness in large-scale genetic experiments. During their tests, they can find antibiotic resistance mutations Coli By sorting the retron barcode rather than sorting individual mutants, which makes the process much faster.
That a lesson First co-author Max Schubert explained:
“RLR allowed us to do something that wasn’t possible with CRISPR: We randomly cut the bacterial genome, transformed that genetic segment into single-stranded DNA in situ, and used it to screen millions of sequences at once. RLR is the simplest and most flexible. a gene editing tool that can be used in experiments. It is highly multiplex, which eliminates the toxicity often observed with CRISPR and improves the researchers’ ability to explore mutations at the genome level.
For a long time, CRISPR was considered a strange thing to bacteria, and the discovery of how it used genome engineering changed the world. Retron is another bacterial innovation that may also provide some important advances. “
There is still work to be done before RLR can be widely used, including improving and standardizing its release rates. The team believes, however, that it could “lead to new, exciting and unexpected innovations.”
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