scholarly journals BE4max and AncBE4max Are Efficient in Germline Conversion of C:G to T:A Base Pairs in Zebrafish

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1690
Author(s):  
Blake Carrington ◽  
Rachel N. Weinstein ◽  
Raman Sood
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Highly Active

The ease of use and robustness of genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9 has led to successful use of gene knockout zebrafish for disease modeling. However, it still remains a challenge to precisely edit the zebrafish genome to create single-nucleotide substitutions, which account for ~60% of human disease-causing mutations. Recently developed base editing nucleases provide an excellent alternate to CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homology dependent repair for generation of zebrafish with point mutations. A new set of cytosine base editors, termed BE4max and AncBE4max, demonstrated improved base editing efficiency in mammalian cells but have not been evaluated in zebrafish. Therefore, we undertook this study to evaluate their efficiency in converting C:G to T:A base pairs in zebrafish by somatic and germline analysis using highly active sgRNAs to twist and ntl genes. Our data demonstrated that these improved BE4max set of plasmids provide desired base substitutions at similar efficiency and without any indels compared to the previously reported BE3 and Target-AID plasmids in zebrafish. Our data also showed that AncBE4max produces fewer incorrect and bystander edits, suggesting that it can be further improved by codon optimization of its components for use in zebrafish.

scholarly journals Cytosine base editor 4 but not adenine base editor generates off-target mutations in mouse embryos

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Kyung Lee ◽  
Harold E. Smith ◽  
Chengyu Liu ◽  
Michaela Willi ◽  
Lothar Hennighausen
Keyword(s):  
Point Mutations ◽  
Mouse Embryos ◽  
Single Nucleotide Variants ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Correct Point ◽  
Adenine Base

AbstractDeaminase base editing has emerged as a tool to install or correct point mutations in the genomes of living cells in a wide range of organisms. However, the genome-wide off-target effects introduced by base editors in the mammalian genome have been examined in only one study. Here, we have investigated the fidelity of cytosine base editor 4 (BE4) and adenine base editors (ABE) in mouse embryos using unbiased whole-genome sequencing of a family-based trio cohort. The same sgRNA was used for BE4 and ABE. We demonstrate that BE4-edited mice carry an excess of single-nucleotide variants and deletions compared to ABE-edited mice and controls. Therefore, an optimization of cytosine base editors is required to improve its fidelity. While the remarkable fidelity of ABE has implications for a wide range of applications, the occurrence of rare aberrant C-to-T conversions at specific target sites needs to be addressed.

Polymorphisms in the goat β-lactoglobulin gene

2005 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ballester ◽  
Armand Sánchez ◽  
Josep M Folch
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Proximal Promoter ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Β Lactoglobulin ◽  
Pyrosequencing Technology ◽  
Frequent Haplotype

β-lactoglobulin polymorphisms have been reported in the milk of different goat breeds, although no genetic variants affecting the protein have been characterized. In the present study, we amplified and sequenced the proximal promoter and the first six exons containing the entire coding region for the β-lactoglobulin gene in eleven goat breeds from Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Senegal and Asia to identify genetic variants. Fifteen polymorphisms were detected, nine in the promoter region and six in the exons of the β-lactoglobulin gene. All polymorphisms were single nucleotide substitutions with the exception of one deletion/insertion in the promoter region. The polymorphisms in the coding region did not produce any amino acid change. In addition, pyrosequencing technology was used to genotype four polymorphisms in the promoter region in 200 goats belonging to eleven breeds. Differences in allelic frequencies for these polymorphisms between breeds are described and a specific polymorphism for the Italian populations was identified. Finally, the analysis of association between these four promoter point mutations was investigated resulting in five haplotypes, GCGC being the most frequent haplotype in all breeds analysed.

scholarly journals Basic principles of the genetic code extension

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Błażej ◽  
Małgorzata Wnetrzak ◽  
Dorota Mackiewicz ◽  
Paweł Mackiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Genetic Code ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Induced Subgraphs ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Code Extension ◽  
Incremental Addition

AbstractCompounds including non-canonical amino acids or other artificially designed molecules can find a lot of applications in medicine, industry and biotechnology. They can be produced thanks to the modification or extension of the standard genetic code (SGC). Such peptides or proteins including the non-canonical amino acids can be constantly delivered in a stable way by organisms with the customized genetic code. Among several methods of engineering the code, using non-canonical base pairs is especially promising, because it enables generating many new codons, which can be used to encode any new amino acid. Since even one pair of new bases can extend the SGC up to 216 codons generated by six-letter nucleotide alphabet, the extension of the SGC can be achieved in many ways. Here, we proposed a stepwise procedure of the SGC extension with one pair of non-canonical bases to minimize the consequences of point mutations. We reported relationships between codons in the framework of graph theory. All 216 codons were represented as nodes of the graph, whereas its edges were induced by all possible single nucleotide mutations occurring between codons. Therefore, every set of canonical and newly added codons induces a specific subgraph. We characterized the properties of the induced subgraphs generated by selected sets of codons. Thanks to that, we were able to describe a procedure for incremental addition of the set of meaningful codons up to the full coding system consisting of three pairs of bases. The procedure of gradual extension of the SGC makes the whole system robust to changing genetic information due to mutations and is compatible with the views assuming that codons and amino acids were added successively to the primordial SGC, which evolved to minimize harmful consequences of mutations or mistranslations of encoded proteins.

scholarly journals Prediction of synonymous corrections by the BE-FF computational tool expands the targeting scope of base editing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabinowitz Roy ◽  
Abadi Shiran ◽  
Almog Shiri ◽  
Offen Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Nucleotide Variation ◽  
Single Nucleotide Variation ◽  
Computational Tool ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reference Protein

ABSTRACTBase editing is a genome-editing approach that employs the CRISPR/Cas system to precisely install point mutations within the genome. A cytidine or adenosine deaminase enzyme is fused to a deactivated Cas and converts C to T or A to G, respectively. The diversified repertoire of base editors, varied in their Cas and deaminase proteins, provides a wide range of functionality. However, existing base-editors can only induce transition substitutions in a specified region determined by the base editor, thus, they are incompatible for many point mutations. Here, we present BE-FF (Base Editors Functional Finder), a novel computational tool that identifies suitable base editors to correct the translated sequence erred by a given single nucleotide variation. Even if a perfect correction of the single nucleotide variation is not possible, BE-FF detects synonymous corrections to produce the reference protein. To assess the potential of BE-FF, we analysed a database of human pathogenic point mutations and found suitable base editors for 60.9% of the transition mutations. Importantly, 19.4% of them were made possible only by synonymous corrections. Moreover, we detected 298 cases in which pathogenic mutations caused by transversions were potentially repairable by base editing via synonymous corrections, although it had been thought impractical. The BE-FF tool and the database are available at https://www.danioffenlab.com/be-ff.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

scholarly journals A versatile genetic engineering toolkit for E. coli based on CRISPR-prime editing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaojun Tong ◽  
Tue S. Jørgensen ◽  
Christopher M. Whitford ◽  
Tilmann Weber ◽  
Sang Yup Lee
Keyword(s):  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Guide Rna ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Potential Basis ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
Nucleotide Resolution

AbstractCRISPR base editing is a powerful method to engineer bacterial genomes. However, it restricts editing to single-nucleotide substitutions. Here, to address this challenge, we adapt a CRISPR-Prime Editing-based, DSB-free, versatile, and single-nucleotide resolution genetic manipulation toolkit for prokaryotes. It can introduce substitutions, deletions, insertions, and the combination thereof, both in plasmids and the chromosome of E. coli with high fidelity. Notably, under optimal conditions, the efficiency of 1-bp deletions reach up to 40%. Moreover, deletions of up to 97 bp and insertions up to 33 bp were successful with the toolkit in E. coli, however, efficiencies dropped sharply with increased fragment sizes. With a second guide RNA, our toolkit can achieve multiplexed editing albeit with low efficiency. Here we report not only a useful addition to the genome engineering arsenal for E. coli, but also a potential basis for the development of similar toolkits for other bacteria.

scholarly journals Base editing and prime editing in laboratory animals

2021 ◽  
pp. 002367722199389
Author(s):  
Federico Caso ◽  
Benjamin Davies
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Laboratory Animal ◽  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Animal Research ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Genomic Change ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Adenine Base

Genome editing by programmable RNA-dependent Cas endonucleases has revolutionised the field of genome engineering, achieving targeted genomic change at unprecedented efficiencies with considerable application in laboratory animal research. Despite its ease of use and wide application, there remain concerns about the precision of this technology and a number of unpredictable consequences have been reported, mostly resulting from the DNA double-strand break (DSB) that conventional CRISPR editing induces. In order to improve editing precision, several iterations of the technology been developed over the years. Base editing is one of most successful developments, allowing for single base conversions but without the need for a DSB. Cytosine and adenine base editing are now established as reliable methods to achieve precise genome editing in animal research studies. Both cytosine and adenine base editors have been applied successfully to the editing of zygotes, resulting in the generation of animal models. Similarly, both base editors have achieved precise editing of point mutations in somatic cells, facilitating the development of gene therapy approaches. Despite rapid progress in optimising these tools, base editing can address only a subset of possible base conversions within a relatively narrow window and larger genomic manipulations are not possible. The recent development of prime editing, originally defined as a simple ‘search and replace’ editing tool, may help address these limitations and could widen the range of genome manipulations possible. Preliminary reports of prime editing in animals are being published, and this new technology may allow significant advancements for laboratory animal research.

scholarly journals Phage Peptides Mediate Precision Base Editing with Focused Targeting Window

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Jia ◽  
Yan-ru Cui ◽  
Shisheng Huang ◽  
Peihong Yu ◽  
Zhengxing Lian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Gene Correction ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Single Point Mutations ◽  
Adenine Base

AbstractCytidine base editors (CBE) are novel genome engineering tools that can generate C-to-T nucleotide substitutions without introducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs). Instead of generating single-point mutations, CBEs induce nucleotide substitutions at wobble positions within the 20-nucleotide target site. A variety of strategies have been developed to improve the targeting scope and window of CBEs. Among these strategies, molecular switches that can temporally control CBE activities represent compelling options. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using a bacteriophage-derived peptide, referred to as G8PPD, as the off-switch of CBEs. We showed that G8PPD could be employed to control the activities of and improve the targeting window of A3A and BE3 CBEs and adenine base editor 7.10 (ABE7.10). Notably, in a cell-based disease model of Marfan syndrome, G8PPD facilitated A3A CBE-based gene correction with a more focused targeting window and improved the percentage of perfectly edited gene alleles from less than 4% to more than 38% of the whole population. Our study presents the first peptide off-switch that can improve the targeting scope of CBEs, thus highlighting the importance of the temporal control of BE activity for precision base editing.

scholarly journals Identification of novel HPFH-like mutations by CRISPR base editing that elevates the expression of fetal hemoglobin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nithin Sam Ravi ◽  
Beeke Wienert ◽  
Stacia K. Wyman ◽  
Jonathan Vu ◽  
Aswin Anand Pai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Mutations ◽  
Fetal Hemoglobin ◽  
Erythroid Differentiation ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Screening Strategy ◽  
Proximal Promoter ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Target Sites

ABSTRACTSwitching hemoglobin synthesis from defective adult beta-globin to fetal gamma-globin is an effective strategy for the treatment of beta-hemoglobinopathies. Fetal hemoglobin expression is down-regulated in the postnatal period due to the interplay of transcription regulators with the HBG promoters. However, in the hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) condition, naturally occurring point mutations in the HBG promoter causes continued expression of fetal globin even during adulthood. Inspired by this natural phenomenon, we screened the proximal promoter of human HBG genes using adenine and cytosine base editors to identify other nucleotide substitutions that could potentially lead to elevated levels of fetal globin. Both the base editors efficiently and precisely edited at the target sites with a minimal generation of indels and no deletion of one of the duplicated HBG genes. Through systematic tiling across the HBG proximal promoter, we identified multiple novel target sites that resulted in a significant increase in fetal globin levels. Further, we individually validated the top eight potential target sites from both the base editors and observed robust elevation in the fetal globin levels up to 47 %, without any detrimental effects on erythroid differentiation. Our screening strategy resulted in the identification of multiple novel point mutations and also validated the known non-deletional HPFH mutations that could elevate the fetal globin expression at therapeutically relevant levels. Overall, our findings shed light on so far unknown regulatory elements within the HBG promoter that normally mediates fetal globin silencing and identify additional targets for therapeutic upregulation of fetal hemoglobin.

scholarly journals Cytosine but not adenine base editor generates mutations in mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Kyung Lee ◽  
Harold E. Smith ◽  
Chengyu Liu ◽  
Michaela Willi ◽  
Lothar Hennighausen
Keyword(s):  
Point Mutations ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Mouse Embryos ◽  
Single Nucleotide Variants ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Base Editing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Correct Point ◽  
Adenine Base

ABSTRACTDeaminase base editing has emerged as a tool to install or correct point mutations in the genomes of living cells in a wide range of organisms and its ultimate success therapeutically depends on its accuracy. Here we have investigated the fidelity of cytosine base editor 4 (BE4) and adenine base editor (ABE) in mouse embryos using unbiased whole genome sequencing of a family-based trio cohort. We demonstrate that BE4-edited mice carry an excess of single-nucleotide variants and deletions compared to ABE-edited mice and controls.

scholarly journals A genotyping method combining primer competition PCR with HRM analysis to identify point mutations in Duchenne animal models

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haizpea Lasa-Fernandez ◽  
Laura Mosqueira-Martín ◽  
Ainhoa Alzualde ◽  
Jaione Lasa-Elgarresta ◽  
Ainara Vallejo-Illarramendi
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Mdx Mouse ◽  
Single Nucleotide Variants ◽  
High Resolution Melt ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Special Equipment ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Screening Experiments ◽  
Genotyping Method

Abstract Dystrophin-null sapje zebrafish is an excellent model for better understanding the pathological mechanisms underlying Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and it has recently arisen as a powerful tool for high-throughput screening of therapeutic candidates for this disease. While dystrophic phenotype in sapje larvae can be easily detected by birefringence, zebrafish genotyping is necessary for drug screening experiments, where the potential rescue of larvae phenotype is the primary outcome. Genotyping is also desirable during colony husbandry since heterozygous progenitors need to be selected. Currently, sapje zebrafish are genotyped through techniques involving sequencing or multi-step PCR, which are often costly, tedious, or require special equipment. Here we report a simple, precise, cost-effective, and versatile PCR genotyping method based on primer competition. Genotypes can be resolved by standard agarose gel electrophoresis and high-resolution melt assay, the latter being especially useful for genotyping a large number of samples. Our approach has shown high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility in detecting the A/T point mutation in sapje zebrafish and the C/T mutation in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne. Hence, this method can be applied to other single nucleotide substitutions and may be further optimized to detect small insertions and deletions. Given its robust performance with crude DNA extracts, our strategy may be particularly well-suited for detecting single nucleotide variants in poor-quality samples such as ancient DNA or DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material.

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