Scientists genetically modify lizards using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool

Scientists from the University of Georgia announced that they had become the first in the world to produce genetically modified reptiles. The team was able to produce four albino lizards using the CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing tool. The CRISPR tool consists of injecting gene editing solutions into a newly fertilized egg or a single-cell embryo.

This causes a mutation of the DNA that is reproduced in all subsequent cells. The team said their progress was a big challenge. The first is that female reptiles store sperm in oviducts or long periods, making it difficult to identify fertilization.

The physiology of reptile eggs, with soft shells and no air space inside, makes it difficult to handle embryos without damaging them. The species of reptiles with which the team worked is called Anolis sagrei, better known as brown anole. The team injected CRISPR proteins into multiple immature eggs in the lizard ovaries that targeted the tyrosinase gene.

The team injected 146 oocytes from 21 lizards and waited for them to be naturally fertilized. In a few weeks, the experiment allowed four lizards to give indications of success, thanks to the production of a quartet of albino lizards.

This species of lizard was chosen because it is widespread in all Caribbean islands. All the lizards used by the study team were collected in a wilderness near Orlando, Florida. The team noted that mutant lizards had displayed manipulated tyrosinase in genes inherited from the mother and father.

This shows that the CRISPR reagent remained active in the mother's oocyte. This indicates that the CRISPR reagent has mutated the paternal genes after fertilization.