CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact

The ∼30 Mb genomes of the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria each encode ∼5000 genes, but the functions of the majority remain unknown. This is due to a paucity of functional annotation from sequence homology, which is compounded by low genetic tractability compared with many model organisms. I...

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Autores principales: Ishizaki, Takahiro, Hernandez, Sophia, Paoletta, Martina, Sanderson, Theo, Bushell, Ellen S. C.
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Portland Press 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/12437
https://portlandpress.com/biochemsoctrans/article/50/3/1069/231360/CRISPR-Cas9-and-genetic-screens-in-malaria
https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20210281
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author Ishizaki, Takahiro
Hernandez, Sophia
Paoletta, Martina
Sanderson, Theo
Bushell, Ellen S. C.
author_browse Bushell, Ellen S. C.
Hernandez, Sophia
Ishizaki, Takahiro
Paoletta, Martina
Sanderson, Theo
author_facet Ishizaki, Takahiro
Hernandez, Sophia
Paoletta, Martina
Sanderson, Theo
Bushell, Ellen S. C.
author_sort Ishizaki, Takahiro
collection INTA Digital
description The ∼30 Mb genomes of the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria each encode ∼5000 genes, but the functions of the majority remain unknown. This is due to a paucity of functional annotation from sequence homology, which is compounded by low genetic tractability compared with many model organisms. In recent years technical breakthroughs have made forward and reverse genome-scale screens in Plasmodium possible. Furthermore, the adaptation of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-Associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology has dramatically improved gene editing efficiency at the single gene level. Here, we review the arrival of genetic screens in malaria parasites to analyse parasite gene function at a genome-scale and their impact on understanding parasite biology. CRISPR/Cas9 screens, which have revolutionised human and model organism research, have not yet been implemented in malaria parasites due to the need for more complex CRISPR/Cas9 gene targeting vector libraries. We therefore introduce the reader to CRISPR-based screens in the related apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii and discuss how these approaches could be adapted to develop CRISPR/Cas9 based genome-scale genetic screens in malaria parasites. Moreover, since more than half of Plasmodium genes are required for normal asexual blood-stage reproduction, and cannot be targeted using knockout methods, we discuss how CRISPR/Cas9 could be used to scale up conditional gene knockdown approaches to systematically assign function to essential genes.
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institution Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina)
language Inglés
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spelling INTA124372022-07-29T11:11:05Z CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact Ishizaki, Takahiro Hernandez, Sophia Paoletta, Martina Sanderson, Theo Bushell, Ellen S. C. Molecular Genetics Laboratory Techniques CRISPR Parasitology Genomes Genética Molecular Técnicas de Laboratorio Repeticiones Palindrómicas Cortas Agrupadas y Regularmente Interespaciadas Malaria Plasmodium falciparum Parasitología Genomas Host–microbe Interactions Interacciones Huésped-microbio The ∼30 Mb genomes of the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria each encode ∼5000 genes, but the functions of the majority remain unknown. This is due to a paucity of functional annotation from sequence homology, which is compounded by low genetic tractability compared with many model organisms. In recent years technical breakthroughs have made forward and reverse genome-scale screens in Plasmodium possible. Furthermore, the adaptation of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-Associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology has dramatically improved gene editing efficiency at the single gene level. Here, we review the arrival of genetic screens in malaria parasites to analyse parasite gene function at a genome-scale and their impact on understanding parasite biology. CRISPR/Cas9 screens, which have revolutionised human and model organism research, have not yet been implemented in malaria parasites due to the need for more complex CRISPR/Cas9 gene targeting vector libraries. We therefore introduce the reader to CRISPR-based screens in the related apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii and discuss how these approaches could be adapted to develop CRISPR/Cas9 based genome-scale genetic screens in malaria parasites. Moreover, since more than half of Plasmodium genes are required for normal asexual blood-stage reproduction, and cannot be targeted using knockout methods, we discuss how CRISPR/Cas9 could be used to scale up conditional gene knockdown approaches to systematically assign function to essential genes. Instituto de Biotecnología Fil: Ishizaki, Takahiro. Umeå University. Department of Molecular Biology; Suecia Fil: Ishizaki, Takahiro. The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS); Suecia Fil: Hernandez, Sophia. Umeå University. Department of Molecular Biology; Suecia Fil: Hernandez, Sophia. The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS); Suecia Fil: Paoletta, Martina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Paoletta, Martina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Paoletta, Martina. Umeå University. Department of Molecular Biology; Suecia Fil: Paoletta, Martina. The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS); Suecia Fil: Sanderson, Theo. Francis Crick Institute; Reino Unido Fil: Bushell, Ellen S. C. Umeå University. Department of Molecular Biology; Suecia Fil: Bushell, Ellen S. C. The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS); Suecia 2022-07-29T10:52:58Z 2022-07-29T10:52:58Z 2022-06 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/12437 https://portlandpress.com/biochemsoctrans/article/50/3/1069/231360/CRISPR-Cas9-and-genetic-screens-in-malaria 1470-8752 https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20210281 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PD-E5-I105-001/2019-PD-E5-I105-001/AR./Patógenos animales: su interacción con el hospedador y el medio ambiente. Impacto en productividad, ecosistemas, sanidad animal y salud pública en el marco “Una Salud” info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Portland Press Biochemical Society Transactions 50 (3) : 1069-1079 (Junio 2022)
spellingShingle Molecular Genetics
Laboratory Techniques
CRISPR
Parasitology
Genomes
Genética Molecular
Técnicas de Laboratorio
Repeticiones Palindrómicas Cortas Agrupadas y Regularmente Interespaciadas
Malaria
Plasmodium falciparum
Parasitología
Genomas
Host–microbe Interactions
Interacciones Huésped-microbio
Ishizaki, Takahiro
Hernandez, Sophia
Paoletta, Martina
Sanderson, Theo
Bushell, Ellen S. C.
CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title_full CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title_fullStr CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title_full_unstemmed CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title_short CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites : small genomes, big impact
title_sort crispr cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites small genomes big impact
topic Molecular Genetics
Laboratory Techniques
CRISPR
Parasitology
Genomes
Genética Molecular
Técnicas de Laboratorio
Repeticiones Palindrómicas Cortas Agrupadas y Regularmente Interespaciadas
Malaria
Plasmodium falciparum
Parasitología
Genomas
Host–microbe Interactions
Interacciones Huésped-microbio
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/12437
https://portlandpress.com/biochemsoctrans/article/50/3/1069/231360/CRISPR-Cas9-and-genetic-screens-in-malaria
https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20210281
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