Enabling functional genomics with genome engineering
- 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA;
- 2Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA;
- 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
- Corresponding author: charles.gersbach{at}duke.edu
Abstract
Advances in genome engineering technologies have made the precise control over genome sequence and regulation possible across a variety of disciplines. These tools can expand our understanding of fundamental biological processes and create new opportunities for therapeutic designs. The rapid evolution of these methods has also catalyzed a new era of genomics that includes multiple approaches to functionally characterize and manipulate the regulation of genomic information. Here, we review the recent advances of the most widely adopted genome engineering platforms and their application to functional genomics. This includes engineered zinc finger proteins, TALEs/TALENs, and the CRISPR/Cas9 system as nucleases for genome editing, transcription factors for epigenome editing, and other emerging applications. We also present current and potential future applications of these tools, as well as their current limitations and areas for future advances.
This article, published in Genome Research, is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
