Moment of Truth: Gene Editing in Action
Moment of Truth: Gene Editing in Action
Jonathan Wilde
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
This image captures the moment when a one-cell mouse embryo is undergoing a CRISPR/Cas9-induced gene editing event. The cell is outlined in a stem cell marker called SSEA1 (red) and the bright green dot highlights an accumulation of a protein called RAD51, which marks the exact location where the gene editing event is happening.
We are investigating a type of DNA repair called interhomolog repair (when a break in DNA is repaired using the homologous chromosome as a template instead of the sister chromatid) in hopes of developing more efficient methods for genome editing.