BIO325 CRISPR Genome Editing

This course will give a thorough introduction to CRISPR technology through lectures, group teaching and hands-on lab experience. This course will give a solid background of CRISPR and the molecular mechanisms underlying this technique. Furthermore, the course will give an introduction to what CRISPR can be used for, delivery techniques, newer CRISPR methodology such as activation and repression of transcription, mRNA interference and various methods for knock-in. Also new Cas variants will be discussed, and CRISPR methods for labeling DNA, RNA, enrichment for sequencing etc. The course will also discuss methods for evaluating off-target effects and will also cover challenges and opportunities for CRISPR in different models, such as fish, mammal, plants, and bacteria, both whole organisms and cell cultures. The ethics around CRISPR technology and the laws in different countries will also be a subject in this course. In the lab course the students will get practical hands-on experience with CRISPR. They will learn to design gRNA targeting different genes, and they will make knock-in cells and knock-out fish embryos (e.g. zebrafish, salmon) and plants (e.g. Arabidopsis). Finally, they will analyze the effect of the CRISPR treatment with various molecular biology techniques. In addition to learning CRISPR, the students will also use many common molecular biology techniques, such as pcr, gel analysis, miniprep and DNA extraction. In addition, they will get experience in advanced techniques such as microinjection of fish embryos, cell culturing and transfection, and sequencing.