Easi-CRISPR for creating knock-in and conditional knockout mouse models using long ssDNA donors

H Miura, RM Quadros, CB Gurumurthy, M Ohtsuka - Nature protocols, 2018 - nature.com
H Miura, RM Quadros, CB Gurumurthy, M Ohtsuka
Nature protocols, 2018nature.com
CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing can easily generate knockout mouse models by
disrupting the gene sequence, but its efficiency for creating models that require either
insertion of exogenous DNA (knock-in) or replacement of genomic segments is very poor.
The majority of mouse models used in research involve knock-in (reporters or
recombinases) or gene replacement (eg, conditional knockout alleles containing exons
flanked by LoxP sites). A few methods for creating such models have been reported that use …
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing can easily generate knockout mouse models by disrupting the gene sequence, but its efficiency for creating models that require either insertion of exogenous DNA (knock-in) or replacement of genomic segments is very poor. The majority of mouse models used in research involve knock-in (reporters or recombinases) or gene replacement (e.g., conditional knockout alleles containing exons flanked by LoxP sites). A few methods for creating such models have been reported that use double-stranded DNA as donors, but their efficiency is typically 1–10% and therefore not suitable for routine use. We recently demonstrated that long single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) serve as very efficient donors, both for insertion and for gene replacement. We call this method efficient additions with ssDNA inserts–CRISPR (Easi-CRISPR) because it is a highly efficient technology (efficiency is typically 30–60% and reaches as high as 100% in some cases). The protocol takes ∼2 months to generate the founder mice.
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