Article: Monkeys born with edited genes
Summary: In China, two cynomolgus monkeys, also called crab-eating macaques, had their genes altered, making them the first ever primates to have their genes edited. Prior to this experiment, foreign genes were inserted into the DNA, but no one had ever succeeded in editing the animals' own genes. The scientists, Jiahao Sha and his colleges, used a bacterial enzyme called Cas9 to "cut" the DNA. mRNA was inserted into the monkeys to make Cas9, which would then disrupt three genes the scientists targeted. The cell would then attempt to repair it but may not succeed. In eight of the injected 15 embryos, two were successfully born: Mingming and Ningning. However, they only have two disrupted genes out of the intended three.
The purpose of this experiment was to genetically modify monkeys to produce mutations created by human diseases. By disrupting genes connected to diseases, the scientists hope to learn how they develop, so they can create and test treatments. One day, they hope to invent a technique to take out mutations in human DNA.
Relevance: During this term, we learned about genetic engineering and how it works. This article is about the modification of monkeys' DNA, which falls under the category of genetic engineering. The alteration of the monkeys' genes is similar to the GMOs we learned about, and the scientists used Cas9, which is a restriction enzyme. We learned about restriction enzymes and their role in genetic engineering.
Citation:
Saey, Tina. "Monkeys born with edited genes." Science News. Society for Science & the Public, 1 Feb 2014. Web. 11 Jan 2015. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/monkeys-born-edited-genes
Do the monkeys display any phenotypic traits that scientist are able to identify in order to determine that the experiment was a success?
ReplyDeleteWhy would the scientist want to use cynomolgus monkeys in this experiment? What are its benefits?
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ReplyDeleteNr0b1, one of the genes which was intended to be disrupted,is involved in keeping embryonic stem cells flexible and for determining sex. If the experiment was a success, then there would be some errors regarding its growth and gender.
ReplyDeleteCynomolgus monkeys were used because they are very similar to humans and are plentiful in Asia. They are often used in various scientific research, particularly those involving disease because they can share infections with humans.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab-eating_macaque