Above: The genomes of these twin infant macaques were modified with multiple mutations.
The ability to create primates with intentional mutations could provide powerful new ways to study complex and genetically baffling brain disorders.
The use of a genome-tool to create two monkeys with specific genetic mutations.
The ability to modify targeted genes in primates is a valuable tool in the study of human diseases.
By Christina Larson
Until recently, Kunming, capital of Chinas southwestern Yunnan province, was known mostly for its palm trees, its blue skies, its laid-back vibe, and a steady stream of foreign backpackers bound for nearby mountains and scenic gorges. But Kunmings reputation as a provincial backwater is rapidly changing. On a plot of land on the outskirts of the citywilderness 10 years ago, and today home to a genomic research facilityscientists have performed a provocative experiment. They have created a pair of macaque monkeys with precise genetic mutations.
Last November, the female monkey twins, Mingming and Lingling, were born here on the sprawling research campus of Kunming Biomedical International and its affiliated Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research. The macaques had been conceived via in vitro fertilization. Then scientists used a new method of DNA engineering known as CRISPR to modify the fertilized eggs by editing three different genes, and they were implanted into a surrogate macaque mother. The twins healthy birth marked the first time that CRISPR has been used to make targeted genetic modifications in primatespotentially heralding a new era of biomedicine in which complex diseases can be modeled and studied in monkeys.
CRISPR, which was developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, and elsewhere over the last several years, is already transforming how scientists think about genetic engineering, because it allows them to make changes to the genome precisely and relatively easily (see Genome Surgery, March/April). The goal of the experiment at Kunming is to confirm that the technology can create primates with multiple mutations, explains Weizhi Ji, one of the architects of the experiment.
Ji began his career at the government-affiliated Kunming Institute of Zoology in 1982, focusing on primate reproduction. China was a very poor country back then, he recalls. We did not have enough funding for research. We just did very simple work, such as studying how to improve primate nutrition. Chinas science ambitions have since changed dramatically. The campus in Kunming boasts extensive housing for monkeys: 75 covered homes, sheltering more than 4,000 primatesmany of them energetically swinging on hanging ladders and scampering up and down wire mesh walls. Sixty trained animal keepers in blue scrubs tend to them full time.
The lab where the experiment was performed includes microinjection systems, which are microscopes pointed at a petri dish and two precision needles, controlled by levers and dials. These are used both for injecting sperm into eggs and for the gene editing, which uses guide RNAs that direct a DNA-cutting enzyme to genes. When I visited, a young lab technician was intently focused on twisting dials to line up sperm with an egg. Injecting each sperm takes only a few seconds. About nine hours later, when an embryo is still in the one-cell stage, a technician will use the same machine to inject it with the CRISPR molecular components; again, the procedure takes just a few seconds.
Follow this link:
Genome Editing
- Genetic Engineering: Ancient Feats That Started A Revolution - Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: January 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: January 16th, 2014]
- Tissue Culture & Genetic Engineering can revive Sugar industry in UP: MODI - Video [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Definition and More from the Free ... [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - humans, body, used, process, plants ... [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Ap genetic engineering 1 - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- 4.3c - Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering for Dummies - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- The Genetic Engineering Of The Annunaki Gods - Chris Hardy - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Biology Project - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Selective Human Breeding - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- mr i explains: The Process of Genetic Engineering (for KS4) - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- AP genetic engineering 2 - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Trait by trait, plant scientists swiftly weed out bad seeds through marker-assisted breeding [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Vermont Senate passes GMO labeling bill [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- GMO Labeling Bill Passes Vermont Senate [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - News - Science - The New York Times [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering: What is Genetic Engineering? [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Buzzle [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - BiologyMad [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - LeaderU.com [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Greenpeace International [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Buzzle.com [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Routine blood glucose measurements can accurately estimate hemoglobin A1c in diabetes [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Tricks Could Make Bionic Ears Hear Better [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Engineered E. coli produces high levels of D-ribose as described in Industrial Biotechnology journal [Last Updated On: April 25th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 25th, 2014]
- Scientists Build a Custom Chromosome [Last Updated On: April 25th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 25th, 2014]
- GEN Publishing introduces 'Clinical OMICs' digital publication [Last Updated On: April 25th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 25th, 2014]
- Deciphering Nature's Alphabet - 4. Imagining the Genome - Video [Last Updated On: April 25th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 25th, 2014]
- Remember the American Chestnut Tree on Arbor Day [Last Updated On: April 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Webinar by Drs. Barrangon, Zhang and Church - Video [Last Updated On: April 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Cas9: A novel approach to genetic engineering - Video [Last Updated On: April 26th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 26th, 2014]
- Minn. lawmakers consider GMO label [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Overview - Video [Last Updated On: April 28th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 28th, 2014]
- Plant Engineers Sow Debate [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- GENs Top 10 Session Picks for the 2014 BIO International Convention [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- TTA14-OGM-Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and transgenic organisms - Video [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- An overview of Genetic Engineering 2 - Video [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Insulin - Video [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- Human Genetic Engineering Final Project - Video [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2014]
- No to Genetic Engineering | People and Politics - Video [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2014]
- Korey Fung Ethics of Genetic Engineering Designer Babies Reproductive Revolution - Video [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2014]
- Functional crops are coming [Last Updated On: May 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 4th, 2014]
- Minecraft- Genetic Engineering Ranch Tour - Video [Last Updated On: May 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 6th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Review - Video [Last Updated On: May 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 6th, 2014]
- d27m - genetic engineering (omd cover) 2014 - Video [Last Updated On: May 6th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 6th, 2014]
- Scientists Add New Letters to Lifes Genetic Alphabet [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2014]
- Vermont governor to sign GMO labeling bill [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Intro - Video [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- SAY NO TO GENETIC ENGINEERING ! SWINE FLU 2009 - Video [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2014]
- New DNA cleavage technique could lead to more versatile genetic engineering [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering By Anna from Germany - Video [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering with Nadia Ayoub - Video [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Simplified - Video [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2014]
- 2. Dissecting Genders- by Religion, Society and Science (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- 1. Introduction - Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam - FULL) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Research Project - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- B3 Selective Breeding and Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering 2 - Video [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2014]
- Court decision keeps NZ GE-free [Last Updated On: May 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 22nd, 2014]
- LW Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: May 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering And Cloning - Video [Last Updated On: May 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 22nd, 2014]
- Virus that helped eradicate smallpox takes on cancer in startups dual-mechanism immunotherapy [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- College Prep English at EIE May 29, 2014 - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- Student Work:Genetically Modified Organisms:ChiChi (G8) - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- 03 Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- 04 Genetic Engineering cont - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- How Genetic Engineering Can Cure Drug Addiction? Michael Crichton on Treatment (2006) - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- Crowd marches against genetic engineering of food - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- Scotch Moses: Genetic Engineering - Video [Last Updated On: May 31st, 2014] [Originally Added On: May 31st, 2014]
- Growing The Good Seed - Video [Last Updated On: June 2nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and the Vedas - Video [Last Updated On: June 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 4th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Presentation - Video [Last Updated On: June 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 4th, 2014]
- Hawaii: Fear over GM plants and pesticides | Global 3000 - Video [Last Updated On: June 4th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 4th, 2014]
- genetic engineering -- Encyclopedia Britannica [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2014]
- A Vaccine for Heart Disease Could Mean No Pills, Lettuce or a Gym [Last Updated On: June 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 14th, 2014]
- Quantel to Color Finish 4K 60p FIFA World Cup [Last Updated On: June 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: June 14th, 2014]