Genome Editing by CRISPR/Cas9: A Game Change in the Genetic Manipulation of Protists.
Genome editing by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated gene 9) system has been transformative in biology. Originally discovered as an adaptive prokaryotic immune system, CRISPR/Cas9 has been repurposed for genome editing in a broad range of model organisms, from yeast to mammalian cells. Protist parasites are unicellular organisms producing important human diseases that affect millions of people around the world. For many of these diseases, such as malaria, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and cryptosporidiosis, there are no effective treatments or vaccines available. The recent adaptation of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to several protist models will be playing a key role in the functional study of their proteins, in the characterization of their metabolic pathways, and in the understanding of their biology, and will facilitate the search for new chemotherapeutic targets. In this work we review recent studies where the CRISPR/Cas9 system was adapted to protist parasites, particularly to Apicomplexans and trypanosomatids, emphasizing the different molecular strategies used for genome editing of each organism, as well as their advantages. We also discuss the potential usefulness of this technology in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Departamento de Patologia Clínica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083, Brazil.
Noelia
N
Lander
Departamento de Patologia Clínica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083, Brazil.
Miguel A
MA
Chiurillo
Departamento de Patologia Clínica, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083, Brazil.|Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA.
Roberto
R
Docampo
D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000235:genetics; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000235:genetics; D064112:Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000235:genetics; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D000072669:Gene Editing; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000235:genetics; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics; D014351:Trypanosomatina / Q000235:genetics
Apicomplexa; Chlamydomonas; trypanosomes