CRISPR Cas9 Technology and Genetic Engineering

Structural bioinformatics is related to prediction and analysis of the three dimensional structure of macromolecules, for example, protein, DNA, RNA. It deals with the speculation of overall folds, Interactions, structure and functional relationship and molecular folding of tentatively solved structures and computationally predicted structures. Structural bioinformatics tools have been created, assessed, applied to answer particular inquiries concerning a wide scope of themes. It gives an invaluable structural context for preservation and mechanistic investigation leading to practical knowledge.

Undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all the specialized cells—ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. 

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology Principles. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species domains for the production of improved or novel organisms. Genetic engineering has applications in medicine, research, industry and agriculture and can be used on a wide range of plants, animals and micro organisms. Tissue engineering is the use of a integration of blood vessels, progenitor cells to produce tissues.

Medical Biotechnology or Red Biotechnology is the use of living cells and cell materials to research and produce pharmaceutical and diagnostic products that help and prevent human diseases. Applications in pharmacology, gene therapy, stem cells, Tissue engineering. By discovering new drugs and vaccines, there have been improved and accelerated drug testing, better diagnostic capabilities, and the availability of foods which enhance nutritional values. It has applications in manufacture pharmaceuticals like enzymes, antibiotics and vaccines, and its use for molecular diagnostic. Today, the availability of “targeted therapies” for diseases and individuals should greatly improve drug safety and efficacy, and the development of predictive technologies may lead to a new era in disease prevention, especially in some of the world’s fast developing economies. This sound rationale holds great potential and promise in the field of medical biotechnology.

“CRISPR” (pronounced “crisper”) stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are the hallmark of a bacterial defense system that forms the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology. In the field of genome engineering, the term “CRISPR” or “CRISPR-Cas9” is often used loosely to refer to the various CRISPR-Cas9 and -CPF1, (and other) systems that can be programmed to target specific stretches of genetic code and to edit DNA at precise locations, as well as for other purposes, such as for new diagnostic tools. With these systems, researchers can permanently modify genes in living cells and organisms and, in the future, may make it possible to correct mutations at precise locations in the human genome in order to treat genetic causes of disease. Other systems are now available, such as CRISPR-Cas13’s, that target RNA provide alternate avenues for use, and with unique characteristics that have been leveraged for sensitive diagnostic tools, such as SHERLOCK.

CRISPR “spacer” sequences are transcribed into short RNA sequences (“CRISPR RNAs” or “crRNAs”) capable of guiding the system to matching sequences of DNA. When the target DNA is found, Cas9 – one of the enzymes produced by the CRISPR system – binds to the DNA and cuts it, shutting the targeted gene off. Using modified versions of Cas9, researchers can activate gene expression instead of cutting the DNA. These techniques allow researchers to study the gene’s function.

Research also suggests that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to target and modify “typos” in the three-billion-letter sequence of the human genome in an effort to treat genetic disease.

CRISPR-Cas9 is proving to be an efficient and customizable alternative to other existing genome editing tools. Since the CRISPR-Cas9 system itself is capable of cutting DNA strands, CRISPRs do not need to be paired with separate cleaving enzymes as other tools do. They can also easily be matched with tailor-made “guide” RNA (gRNA) sequences designed to lead them to their DNA targets. Tens of thousands of such gRNA sequences have already been created and are available to the research community. CRISPR-Cas9 can also be used to target multiple genes simultaneously, which is another advantage that sets it apart from other gene-editing tools.

The genomes of various organisms encode a series of messages and instructions within their DNA sequences. Genome editing involves changing those sequences, thereby changing the messages. This can be done by inserting a cut or break in the DNA and tricking a cell's natural DNA repair mechanisms into introducing the changes one wants. CRISPR-Cas9 provides a means to do so.

In 2012, two pivotal research papers were published in the journals Science and PNAS, which helped transform bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 into a simple, programmable genome-editing tool.

The studies, conducted by separate groups, concluded that Cas9 could be directed to cut any region of DNA. This could be done by simply changing the nucleotide sequence of crRNA, which binds to a complementary DNA target. In the 2012 Science article, Martin Jinek and colleagues further simplified the system by fusing crRNA and tracrRNA to create a single "guide RNA." Thus, genome editing requires only two components: a guide RNA and the Cas9 protein

<span style="\&quot;font-size:" 11pt;="" line-height:="" 115%;="" font-family:="" "times="" new="" roman",="" serif;\"="">CRISPR-Cas9 is proving to be an efficient and customizable alternative to other existing genome editing tools. Since the CRISPR-Cas9 system itself is capable of cutting DNA strands, CRISPRs do not need to be paired with separate cleaving enzymes as other tools do. They can also easily be matched with tailor-made “guide” RNA (gRNA) sequences designed to lead them to their DNA targets. Tens of thousands of such gRNA sequences have already been created and are available to the research community. CRISPR-Cas9 can also be used to target multiple genes simultaneously, which is another advantage that sets it apart from other gene-editing tools

CRISPR genome editing allows scientists to quickly create cell and animal models, which researchers can use to accelerate research into diseases such as cancer and mental illness. In addition, CRISPR is now being developed as a rapid diagnostic. To help encourage this type of research worldwide, scientists and their team have trained thousands of researchers in the use of CRISPR genome editing technology through direct education and by sharing more than 40,000 CRISPR components with academic laboratories around the world.

CRISPR-Cas9 has become popular in recent years. CRISPR technology has also been applied in the food and agricultural industries to engineer probiotic cultures and to vaccinate industrial cultures (for yogurt, for example) against viruses. It is also being used in crops to improve yield, drought tolerance and nutritional properties. There is also the phenomenon of "off-target effects," where DNA is cut at sites other than the intended target. This can lead to the introduction of unintended mutations.  Furthermore, Scientists noted that even when the system cuts on target, there is a chance of not getting a precise edit. They called this "genome vandalism."