title: A quick guide to CRISPR sgRNA design tools.
abstract: Targeted genome editing is now possible in nearly any organism and is widely acknowledged as a biotech game-changer. Among available gene editing techniques, the CRISPR-Cas9 system is the current favorite because it has been shown to work in many species, does not necessarily result in the addition of foreign DNA at the target site, and follows a set of simple design rules for target selection. Use of the CRISPR-Cas9 system is facilitated by the availability of an array of CRISPR design tools that vary in design specifications and parameter choices, available genomes, graphical visualization, and downstream analysis functionality. To help researchers choose a tool that best suits their specific research needs, we review the functionality of various CRISPR design tools including our own, the CRISPR Genome Analysis Tool (CGAT; http://cropbioengineering.iastate.edu/cgat ).
authors.affiliation: a Interdepartmental Genetics and Genomics Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.|b Department of Agronomy ; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Vincent A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Brazelton
authors.affiliation: c Department of Genetics ; Development and Cell Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zarecor
authors.affiliation: c Department of Genetics ; Development and Cell Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: d Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA ;|e Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: d Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA ;|e Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: d Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA ;|e Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Keting
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: c Department of Genetics ; Development and Cell Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a Interdepartmental Genetics and Genomics Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.|b Department of Agronomy ; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.|c Department of Genetics ; Development and Cell Biology; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA.|d Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program; Iowa State University ; Ames , IA USA ;
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lawrence-Dill
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems; D019295:Computational Biology; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods; D016678:Genome; D020407:Internet; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D012984:Software; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012313:RNA