Application of CRISPR-Cas9 in modeling mitochondrial dysfunction and telomere aging

Genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9 system is possible with single guide RNA (sgRNA) which targets Cas9 nuclease to the specific genomic loci. Relative easiness of constructing sgRNAs and efficient genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9 system allowed researchers to apply this tool in generating genetic cell or mouse models or in studying interaction of multiple genes. Its application has been ever expanding to gene silencing, promoter activation, and live imaging of repetitive genomic sequence with modified version of Cas9. In this talk, we will introduce technical application of CRISPR-Cas9 in modeling neurodegenerative disease. Either modified version of Cas9 or telomere repeat-targeting guide RNA was used to recapitulate two key features of neurodegenerative disease which are mitochondrial dysfunction and telomere aging, respectively. Detailed phenotypic alterations in the CRISPR-Cas9-induced disease models will be discussed in the seminar. Overall, our results indicate that this CRISPR/cas9 genome editing technology has flexibility and advantage in application for aging or PD research in combination with previous disease models.