CRISPR in Your Kitchen: an At-Home CRISPR Kit to Edit Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Used during a Remote Lab Course

McDonnell, Lisa; Moore, Andrew W.; Micou, Melissa; Day, Christopher; Grossman, Emily Nicole; Meaders, Clara L.

doi:10.1128/jmbe.00321-21

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Paradoxically, they turned away from the regulation of this power to the regulation of putative hazards. 2 In that era, there was no conception that the use of genome editing could include applications without controlled exposures, such as in the outdoors or domestic kitchens ( Mueller, 2021 ; McDonnell et al, 2022 ). They understandably imagined its use only in a contained laboratory with a single intended product.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are null segregants new combinations of heritable material and should they be regulated?

et al. 2023

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Through genome editing and other techniques of gene technology, it is possible to create a class of organism called null segregants. These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are products of gene technology but are argued to have no lingering vestige of the technology after the segregation of chromosomes or deletion of insertions. From that viewpoint regulations are redundant because any unique potential for the use of gene technology to cause harm has also been removed. We tackle this question of international interest by reviewing the early history of the purpose of gene technology regulation. The active ingredients of techniques used for guided mutagenesis, e.g., site-directed nucleases, such as CRISPR/Cas, are promoted for having a lower potential per reaction to create a hazard. However, others see this as a desirable industrial property of the reagents that will lead to genome editing being used more and nullifying the promised hazard mitigation. The contest between views revolves around whether regulations could alter the risks in the responsible use of gene technology. We conclude that gene technology, even when used to make null segregants, has characteristics that make regulation a reasonable option for mitigating potential harm. Those characteristics are that it allows people to create more harm faster, even if it creates benefits as well; the potential for harm increases with increased use of the technique, but safety does not; and regulations can control harm scaling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are null segregants new combinations of heritable material and should they be regulated?

et al. 2023

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“…Compared to other reported cell-free systems using CRISPR 10,12,13,24 , our kit eliminates the need for equipment (e.g., pipettes, incubator, and imager), relies solely on smartphones for measurement, and an in-house CRISPectra algorithm for quantification, which increases accessibility to students. Our current CRISPR kit makes use of the commercial transcription-translation system and all reagents needed to perform the frugal CRISPR kit experiments can be ordered easily from retailers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While previous studies have successfully reduced the requirements for performing a CRISPR experiment by using a cell-free system, they still require equipment (e.g., an incubator or imager), expensive apparatus (e.g., pipettes), and specialized software (e.g., data analysis) [10][11][12][13] . From the perspective of accessibility and sustainability, we reasoned that eliminating these requirements is key to offering hands-on CRISPR experiences to high school students in a more equitable setting (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodesign of Frugal CRISPR Kits for Equitable and Accessible Education

Collins,

Lau,

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Equitable and accessible education on life sciences and bioengineering is crucial to training the next generation of scientists, fostering transparency in public decision-making, and ensuring biotechnology democratization that can benefit a wide-ranging population. As a ground-breaking technology for genome engineering, CRISPR has transformed research and therapeutics. However, hands-on exposure to this technology for educational purposes remains restricted, primarily due to extensive resources required to execute CRISPR experiments. In this study, we develop an accessible and frugal CRISPR kit, tailored for K-12 education settings. Our CRISPR kit eliminates the need for equipment, prioritizes biosafety, and utilizes cost-effective reagents. By combining CRISPRi gene regulation, chromoproteins, cell-free transcription-translation systems, and smartphone-based quantification, our kit offers a user-friendly approach and a reliable assessment of CRISPR activity, eliminating the need for a traditional laboratory setup. Experiments conducted by high school students in real-world settings highlight the kit's utility for conducting reliable CRISPR experiments. The frugal CRISPR kit provides a modular and expandable platform to offer students hands-on experience in genome engineering, and we envision that it will facilitate equitable and accessible education and technology democratization for communities of diverse socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds.

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“…Different initiatives and companies have created do-it-yourself (DIY) kits that students can use to perform simple experiments [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] . While intriguing, these kits require the acquisition and shipping of individual kits to each student, group of students, or school [20] , [21] and are therefore not scalable, nor can they easily reach isolated communities. Another approach involves creating experiment protocols involving common household items [22] , [23] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cloud-controlled microscopy enables remote project-based biology education in underserved Latinx communities

Baudin

Sacksteder

Worthington

et al. 2022

Heliyon

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CRISPR in Your Kitchen: an At-Home CRISPR Kit to Edit Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Used during a Remote Lab Course

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

Are null segregants new combinations of heritable material and should they be regulated?

Are null segregants new combinations of heritable material and should they be regulated?

Biodesign of Frugal CRISPR Kits for Equitable and Accessible Education

Cloud-controlled microscopy enables remote project-based biology education in underserved Latinx communities

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