Stanford researchers develop new, 'three-dimensional' CRISPR technology – The Stanford Daily

On Thursday, a team led by bioengineering professor Stanley Qi released Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats genome organization, or CRISPR-GO, which allows scientists to move parts of DNA within a nucleus. In contrast, previous CRISPR technology has been used to "cut" and "paste" sections of the genetic code within individual pieces of DNA.

Qi's team gained the ability to relocate pieces of DNA by modifying CRISPR protein. Use of CRISPR-GO allows the search for not only the location, but the "address," of genetic code, but also – as a result – the function of the code. DNA is a function of unclear.

"We're very excited about the potential here, while we've answered questions, we've opened up about 20 more," Qi told the Stanford Medicine News Center.

According to Qi, CRISPR-GO consists of three main elements: the address of the genetic target to be relocated, the destination of the target and the "bridge," a catalyst that assists in the movement of the target to the destination.

"Kids often like to build little railroads to help get trains to one another," Qi told Stanford Medicine. "It's not so different from what we're doing here."

Qi's team identified specific compartments and free-floating proteins in the nucleus that can impact function of relocated DNA. Some nuclear regions may repress gene expression or accelerate cell division depending on the location of genetic material. To conceptualize the varying roles among nuclear compartments, Qi points to the varying roles of different rooms in a house.

Cindy Nguyen '19; Ph.D. candidates Xiaoshu Xu, Liu Yanxia, ​​Lin Xueqiu, Timothy Daley, Yuchen Gao and Nathan Kipniss M.S.'14; and research scientist Marie La Russa are co-authors of Thursday's study. Postdoctoral scholar Haifeng Wang is the lead author. Qi noted that the team's CRISPR-GO research remains in a pilot phase and calls for more testing before being incorporated into health care.

"Further investigation is required to study CRISPR-GO affects the transcription, epigenetic status, and local chromatin structure of proximal and distal genes," the study reads. "Altogether, the ability to use CRISPR-GO to control repositioning of a target for a different method of programmable gene regulation."

Contact Holden Foreman at hs4man21 'at' stanford.edu.