Turning off gene-editing until it reaches cell cycle phases where more accurate repairs are likely to happen offers a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9’s problem with unwanted genetic changes.

Researchers from Hiroshima University and Tokyo Medical and Dental University published on Communications Biology the results of their study which successfully demonstrated a more precise gene-editing and suppressed unintended genetic deletions, insertions, or mutations called off-target effects.

Although previous methods were developed that reported fewer off-target effects associated with the CRISPR technology, the researchers said these often exhibited lower editing efficiency.

«We aimed to develop the method to avoid the side effect called off-target effect which is one of the most challenging problems in the genome-editing field,» said Wataru Nomura, one of the study’s authors and a professor at HU’s Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences.

«Our method is like hitting two birds with one stone. We can improve the preciseness of genome editing and suppression of off-target effects at the same time.»

More control in gene-editing

CRISPR-Cas9 has ushered in a new frontier in gene editing as a simpler and less expensive tool. Acting like scissors, it can snip genetic material you want to alter. The process, however, can also create off-target effects that limit its use in the field of therapeutics.

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Materials provided by Hiroshima University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.