• A Cas9 with PAM recognition for adenine dinucleotides

      Chatterjee, Pranam; Lee, Jooyoung; Nip, Lisa; Koseki, Sabrina R. T.; Tysinger, Emma; Sontheimer, Erik J.; Jacobson, Joseph M.; Jakimo, Noah (2020-05-18)
      CRISPR-associated (Cas) DNA-endonucleases are remarkably effective tools for genome engineering, but have limited target ranges due to their protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) requirements. We demonstrate a critical expansion of the targetable sequence space for a type II-A CRISPR-associated enzyme through identification of the natural 5[Formula: see text]-NAAN-3[Formula: see text] PAM preference of Streptococcus macacae Cas9 (SmacCas9). To achieve efficient editing activity, we graft the PAM-interacting domain of SmacCas9 to its well-established ortholog from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpyCas9), and further engineer an increased efficiency variant (iSpyMac) for robust genome editing activity. We establish that our hybrids can target all adenine dinucleotide PAM sequences and possess robust and accurate editing capabilities in human cells.
    • Chemical modifications of adenine base editor mRNA and guide RNA expand its application scope

      Jiang, Tingting; Zhang, Xiao-Ou; Cao, Yueying; Weng, Zhiping; Xue, Wen (2020-04-24)
      CRISPR-Cas9-associated base editing is a promising tool to correct pathogenic single nucleotide mutations in research or therapeutic settings. Efficient base editing requires cellular exposure to levels of base editors that can be difficult to attain in hard-to-transfect cells or in vivo. Here we engineer a chemically modified mRNA-encoded adenine base editor that mediates robust editing at various cellular genomic sites together with moderately modified guide RNA, and show its therapeutic potential in correcting pathogenic single nucleotide mutations in cell and animal models of diseases. The optimized chemical modifications of adenine base editor mRNA and guide RNA expand the applicability of CRISPR-associated gene editing tools in vitro and in vivo.
    • Improved prime editors enable pathogenic allele correction and cancer modelling in adult mice

      Liang, Shun-Qing; Zheng, Chunwei; Mintzer, Esther; Zhao, Yan G.; Ponnienselvan, Karthikeyan; Mir, Aamir; Sontheimer, Erik J.; Gao, Guangping; Flotte, Terence R.; Wolfe, Scot A.; et al. (2021-04-09)
      Prime editors (PEs) mediate genome modification without utilizing double-stranded DNA breaks or exogenous donor DNA as a template. PEs facilitate nucleotide substitutions or local insertions or deletions within the genome based on the template sequence encoded within the prime editing guide RNA (pegRNA). However, the efficacy of prime editing in adult mice has not been established. Here we report an NLS-optimized SpCas9-based prime editor that improves genome editing efficiency in both fluorescent reporter cells and at endogenous loci in cultured cell lines. Using this genome modification system, we could also seed tumor formation through somatic cell editing in the adult mouse. Finally, we successfully utilize dual adeno-associated virus (AAVs) for the delivery of a split-intein prime editor and demonstrate that this system enables the correction of a pathogenic mutation in the mouse liver. Our findings further establish the broad potential of this genome editing technology for the directed installation of sequence modifications in vivo, with important implications for disease modeling and correction.
    • Orgo-Seq integrates single-cell and bulk transcriptomic data to identify cell type specific-driver genes associated with autism spectrum disorder

      Lim, Elaine T.; Chan, Yingleong; Dawes, Pepper; Erdin, Serkan; Reichert, Julia M.; Burns, Mannix J.; Church, George M. (2022-06-10)
      Cerebral organoids can be used to gain insights into cell type specific processes perturbed by genetic variants associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. However, robust and scalable phenotyping of organoids remains challenging. Here, we perform RNA sequencing on 71 samples comprising 1,420 cerebral organoids from 25 donors, and describe a framework (Orgo-Seq) to integrate bulk RNA and single-cell RNA sequence data. We apply Orgo-Seq to 16p11.2 deletions and 15q11-13 duplications, two loci associated with autism spectrum disorder, to identify immature neurons and intermediate progenitor cells as critical cell types for 16p11.2 deletions. We further applied Orgo-Seq to identify cell type-specific driver genes. Our work presents a quantitative phenotyping framework to integrate multi-transcriptomic datasets for the identification of cell types and cell type-specific co-expressed driver genes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.
    • Streamlined ex vivo and in vivo genome editing in mouse embryos using recombinant adeno-associated viruses

      Yoon, Yeonsoo; Wang, Dan; Tai, Phillip W. L.; Riley, Joy; Gao, Guangping; Rivera-Perez, Jaime A. (2018-01-29)
      Recent advances using CRISPR-Cas9 approaches have dramatically enhanced the ease for genetic manipulation in rodents. Notwithstanding, the methods to deliver nucleic acids into pre-implantation embryos have hardly changed since the original description of mouse transgenesis more than 30 years ago. Here we report a novel strategy to generate genetically modified mice by transduction of CRISPR-Cas9 components into pre-implantation mouse embryos via recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs). Using this approach, we efficiently generated a variety of targeted mutations in explanted embryos, including indel events produced by non-homologous end joining and tailored mutations using homology-directed repair. We also achieved gene modification in vivo by direct delivery of rAAV particles into the oviduct of pregnant females. Our approach greatly simplifies the generation of genetically modified mice and, more importantly, opens the door for streamlined gene editing in other mammalian species.