Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

13 hours ago Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the bacteria in which the HZI scientists have studied the CRISPR-Cas system. Credit: HZI / M. Rohde

Genome engineering with the RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas9 system in animals and plants is changing biology. It is easier to use and more efficient than other genetic engineering tools, thus it is already being applied in laboratories all over the world just a few years after its discovery. This rapid adoption and the history of the system are the core topics of a review published in the renowned journal Science. The review was written by the discoverers of the system Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier, who works at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and is also affiliated to the Hannover Medical School and Ume University, and Prof. Jennifer Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Many diseases result from a change of an individual's DNA - the letter code that genes consist of. The defined order of the letters within a gene usually codes for a protein. Proteins are the workforce of our body and responsible for almost all processes needed to keep us running. When a gene is altered, its protein product may lose its normal function and disorders can result. "Making site-specific changes to the genome therefore is an interesting approach to preventing or treating those diseases", says Prof Emmanuelle Charpentier, head of the HZI research department "Regulation in Infection Biology". Due to this, ever since the discovery of the DNA structure, researchers have been looking for a way to alternate the genetic code.

First techniques like zinc finger nucleases and synthetic nucleases called TALENs were a starting point but turned out to be expensive and difficult to handle for a beginner. "The existing technologies are dependent on proteins as address labels and customizing new proteins for any new change to introduce in the DNA is a cumbersome process", says Charpentier. In 2012, while working at Ume University, she described what is now revolutionising genetic engineering: the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

It is based on the immune system of bacteria and archaea but is also of value in the laboratory. CRISPR is short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats, whereas Cas simply stands for the CRISPR-associated protein. "Initially we identified a novel RNA, namely tracrRNA, associated to the CRISPR-Cas9 system, which we published in 2011 in Nature. We were excited when Krzysztof Chylinski from my laboratory subsequently confirmed a long term thinking: Cas9 is an enzyme that functions with two RNAs", says Charpentier.

Together the system has the ability to detect specific sequences of letters within the genetic code and to cut DNA at a specific point. In this process the Cas9 protein functions as the scissors and an RNA snippet as the address label ensuring that the cut happens in the right place. In collaboration with Martin Jinek and Jennifer Doudna, the system could be simplified to use it as a universal technology. Now the user would just have to replace the sequence of this RNA to target virtually any sequence in the genome.

After describing the general abilities of CRISPR-Cas9 in 2012 it was shown in early 2013 that it works as efficiently in human cells as it does in bacteria. Ever since, there has been a real hype around the topic and researchers from all over the world have suggested new areas in which the new tool can be used. The possible applications extend from developing new therapies for genetic disorders caused by gene mutations to changing the pace and course of agricultural research in the future all the way to a possible new method for fighting the AIDS virus HIV.

"The CRISPR-Cas9 system has already breached boundaries and made genetic engineering much more versatile, efficient and easy", Charpentier says. "There really does not seem to be a limit in the applications."

Explore further: RCas9: A programmable RNA editing tool

Viruses cannot only cause illnesses in humans, they also infect bacteria. Those protect themselves with a kind of 'immune system' which simply put consists of specific sequences in the genetic material ...

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Revolutionizing genome engineering: Review on history and future of the CRISPR-Cas9 system published

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Genetic engineering takes cells and alters their genes so they perform functions different from what nature originally intended. A new trend uses circuitry to re-engineer the cell. These biological circuits "wire" naturally occurring cells into a circuit that performs a new function, such as filling in for the dopamine-generating cells destroyed by Parkinson's disease.

"Our ultimate goal, many years from now, is complex medical applications, such as injection of a circuit into the bloodstream that looks for cancer cells and, when it finds one, injects a drug," Domitilla Del Vecchio, a professor at MIT, told EE Times. "Such a circuit would need a sensor, a computer, and an actuation component to inject the drug, and those are the kinds of components we are working on today."

Yeast cells (middle) are wired together like electronic components, but they communicate, not with electrical wires, but with chemicals that only plug into cells with the proper receptor. (Image: MIT)

Other possible applications include synthetic biological circuits that measure glucose levels constantly for diabetic patients and then automatically release insulin when it is needed.

The design process for such biocircuitry is slow and arduous compared with designing electronic circuits. For one thing, the researchers are not using nerves for communication. Instead, they use the normal communication method inside a natural cell, with the "output" secreting a chemical that only affects the "input" cells that have receptors tailored to be activated by that particular chemical.

The second big slowdown is the mathematics used to model the desired circuits. The researchers cannot use simple R-L-C equations like Ohm's Law. They must use the tedious mathematics of differential equations. "Biological circuits are very nonlinear, so we have to use differential equations to model them," Del Vecchio said.

Nevertheless, the payoff will make the effort worth it, since many maladies seem immune to solution by a simple symptom-treating drug. They require a complex cure that actively senses, computes, and responds. The best way to do that, according to MIT researchers, is to create cells that perform those functions internally, rather than trying to wire together an artificial neural network, as so many others have attempted.

Left to right: Ron Weiss, professor of biological engineering; Domitilla Del Vecchio, associate professor of mechanical engineering; and Deepak Mishra, MIT graduate student in biological engineering. (Image: MIT/Brian Teague)

"Besides nerve cells, there are many types of circuitry in biological systems, such as genetic circuitry that controls the expression of genes and the cells that controls the time keeping of the organism, such as when to get up in the morning," Del Vecchio said.

So far, most of the research group's circuits have been designed to sense something, using either yeast cells (in the illustration above) or bacteria cells. "Bacteria cells are much easier to work with, because they don't have a nucleus to deal with."

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Biologists Grow Living Circuits

GENETIC ENGINEERING: Cow/Pig CREATURE will be on your DINNER PLATE
Hybrid cow/pig meat is threatening cities on a global level. Please watch, share, and write your congress persons. If this scientific experimentation on FOOD continues, mass deaths will occur.

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GENETIC ENGINEERING: Cow/Pig CREATURE will be on your DINNER PLATE - Video

November 29, 2014

"Spider silk' is stronger than conventional silk and could be used for textiles

TOKYO: Japanese scientists have developed through genetic engineering using genes from spiders and silkworms a super resistant silk which could be used for textiles as well as in the surgical field, media reported on Friday.

Known as Spider Silk, which is stronger and smoother than conventional silk, it has been developed by researchers at Shinshu University, the Asahi daily newspaper reported.

Masao Nakagaki from the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology was the first person, in 2007, to implant spider genes in silkworms, resulting in the production of silk which had some components of spider webs.

Several years of research has now led to the development of spider silk which has less than 20 per cent of the components of spider webs.

Several prototypes of socks have also been manufactured using this new material.

It is expected that the hybrid silk would be used in the textile industry, and for manufacturing surgical threads and artificial blood vessels.

The university reached an agreement with the local government to commercially produced the hybrid silk.

Both institutions have decided to collaborate in areas of industrial development, training of personnel, academic research and use of facilities for commercial production of the silk, according to Asahi.

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Scientists develop hybrid silk using spider genes

Islam, Genetic Engineering and Bioethics /
Interview with Dr. Rana Dajani.

By: TVIslamScience

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Islam, Genetic Engineering and Bioethics / - Video

Topic: It has criticised genetic engineering. insurance (voice)
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Topic: It has criticised genetic engineering. insurance (voice) - Video

Advanced CRISPR Cas9 Genetic Engineering
The CRISPR Cas9 system has been harnessed to create a simple, RNA programmable method to mediate genome editing in mammalian cells, and can be used to generate gene knockouts (via ...

By: William Orfanos

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Advanced CRISPR Cas9 Genetic Engineering - Video

Genetic Engineering: The Super Banana
Project for APES. By Sydney Hsueh and Jenny Lee.

By: Sydney Hsueh

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Genetic Engineering: The Super Banana - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Nov-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, November 24, 2014--Genetically engineered pigs, minipigs, and microminipigs are valuable tools for biomedical research, as their lifespan, anatomy, physiology, genetic make-up, and disease mechanisms are more similar to humans than the rodent models typically used in drug discovery research. A Comprehensive Review article entitled "Current Progress of Genetically Engineered Pig Models for Biomedical Research," describing advances in techniques to create and use pig models and their impact on the development of novel drugs and cell and gene therapies, is published in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the BioResearch Open Access website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/biores.2014.0039.

Gkhan Gn and Wilfried Kues, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (Neustadt, Germany), Istanbul Technical University, and Istanbul University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Turkey), discuss the technologies that have made it possible to develop transgenic pig models of human diseases, such as targeted gene transfer and genome sequencing. The authors review current progress in creating transgenic pig models for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, ophthalmology, and xenotransplantation. These models will enable researchers to study disease processes, identify new drug targets, test novel cell therapies to restore diseased tissues and organs, and assess methods to correct or replace mutated genes.

"This review provides an excellent update of recent progress in the field of pig transgenics for biomedical research," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

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About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMed Central. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website at http://www.liebertpub.com/biores.

About the Publisher

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New treatments for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease -- you may have a pig to thank

With an MBA from the University of Chicago (2006) and an MSc from the Compigne University of Technology (1997), David Del Bourgo has combined education in management and biomedical engineering. He has acquired 17 years of experience in marketing and sales development within the healthcare industry.

Before joining Genomic Vision, David Del Bourgo was VP Sales and Marketing at Theraclion, which specializes in therapeutic ultrasound equipment. After joining the company in 2009, he instigated Theraclions marketing strategy, developed the network of key opinion leaders and deployed the direct and indirect sales of an innovative echotherapy solution, which established the company as a major player in the treatment of tumors by ultrasound.

From 2006 to 2009, David was Director of Corporate Development and Marketing at Orbotech, a NASDAQ-listed Israeli electronics company, where he notably contributed to the growth of their medical division and led the acquisition of a Danish company specializing in nuclear cardiology (turnover of $30 million). His other positions have included Manager in Strategic Consulting at Advention Business Partners (2005-2006) and various positions at General Electric Healthcare, where he was initially a researcher (1997) before being appointed International Product Marketing Manager (2001-2003).

At Genomic Vision, Davids mission has begun with the setting up of a Sales and Marketing team, which is already operational, consisting of product specialists and a field team whose aim will be to promote the Companys innovative genetic tests among the main European diagnostic centers.

Aaron Bensimon, Genomic Visions co-founder and Chairman, says: We are very pleased to be able to count on a manager with such experience at Genomic Vision. David and his team are highly driven by their objective of deploying our international marketing strategy. His expertise and knowledge of the sector represent real assets in identifying sales opportunities for the genetic tests we are developing, and notably those targeting breast and colon cancer, which are scheduled to be launched in 2015.

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ABOUT GENOMIC VISION A spinoffof the Institut Pasteur, Genomic Vision is a molecular diagnostics company specialized in developing diagnostic tests for genetic diseases and cancers. Using molecular combing, an innovative technology that allows the direct visualization of individual DNA molecules, Genomic Vision detects quantitative and qualitative variations in the genome that are at the origin of numerous serious pathologies. Having benefited from the financial support of the Institut Pasteur, SGAM AI, Vesalius Biocapital and Quest Diagnostics, the Company is developing a solid portfolio of tests that notably target breast cancer and cancer of the colon. Since 2013, the Company has marketed the CombHeliX FSHD test for identifying a myopathy that is difficult to detect, Facio-scapulo-humeral dystrophy (FSHD), in the United States thanks to a strategic alliance with Quest Diagnostics, the American leader in diagnostic laboratory tests, and in France.

ABOUT MOLECULAR COMBING DNA molecular combing technology considerably improves the structural and functional analysis of DNA molecules. DNA fibers are stretched out on glass slides, as if combed, and uniformly aligned over the whole surface. It is then possible to identify genetic anomalies by locating genes or specific sequences in a patients genome using genetic markers, an approach developed by Genomic Vision and patented under the name Genomic Morse Code. This exploration of the entire genome at high resolution via a simple analysis enables the direct visualization of genetic anomalies that are undetectable by other technologies.

For further information, please go to http://www.genomicvision.com

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Genomic Vision Appoints David Del Bourgo as Head of Sales and Marketing