EVOLUTION IN HUMAN HANDS: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CRISPR-CAS

Benthem, Pieter van (2020) EVOLUTION IN HUMAN HANDS: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CRISPR-CAS. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

All the information of the composition of an organism is stored inside the DNA in a unique sequence of four nucleotides. For thousands of years, humans have altered the genetic composition of their environment in various ways. The discovery of gene specific targeting approaches like ZFN, TALE and especially CRISPR made genome editing more precise, effective and efficient. Which crucial developments preceded the breakthrough of the CRISPR-Cas technique? What are the applications of CRISPR at this moment? And what are the prospects? CRISPR-Cas is the adaptive immune system of bacteria. In bacteria genomic information of pathogens is stored between spacers. CRISPR proteins actively scan the genome, when a match is found the Cas protein cleaves out the threat. CRISPR-Cas can be reprogrammed to target any specific target of interest. Depending on the function domains CRISPR has many applications: introduction of knockouts, knock-ins, BE, epigenome modifiers, and transcriptional regulators. Due to this toolbox CRISPR has the ability to alter genes and gene activity in plants, animals and humans. CRISPR has application in clinical research, agriculture, cancer treatment, diagnostics, infectious disease and germline editing. The future perspective of CRISPR is promising. More research is necessary to increase the safety and efficiency and minimalize side effects and negative consequences. In addition, ethical issues should be fully considered and strict regulation should be implied.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Foijer, F.
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	10 Aug 2020 07:14
Last Modified:	10 Aug 2020 07:14
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/23037

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