Genome Targeting And Editing Essay

Genome targeting and editing has provided the ability to better understand and determine the function of genes in many model organisms. Genomes are composed of genes which are the basic unit of heredity that determine the traits organisms express. With the ability to target specific genes and edit them, genes and their locations in the genome can be studied and determine their significance and function, in addition to gaining an understanding to human disease and possible routes to eliminate them. The most effective methods of genome editing are those of the zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN), and the clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated systems (CRISPR/Cas).
Prior to the discovery and the development of the ZFN, TALE and CRISPR/Cas methods, genome targeting and editing seemed to have more negative effects than positive due to the amount of time and effort it required and the …show more content…
The CRISPR system works by cleaving a point along foreign DNA and placing what are called “spacers” in order to stop or reduce the effect that pathogenic DNA has by developing an immunity in that pathogen because it has been introduced in small portions into the host’s sequence. The CRISPR/Cas system is capable of cleaving almost any DNA sequence as long as the design of the crRNA has the appropriate binding region for the system. It is uncertain if the CRISPR/Cas system exhibits the selectivity that is needed to make sure that single sites are being targeted in complex genomes. Unlike TALE proteins and the ZFN, the CRISPR/Cas9 system uses a guide RNA (gRNA) to target the desired gene with the matching RNA sequence. The CRISPR is the newest discovery of the gene editing technologies/systems and is, so far, the most reliable system and capable of multiplex genome engineering due to its ability to introduce multiple