CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 1

CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat

Annotated Bibliography

Cameron R. Lindsay

ENC 2135

Prof. Eleanor Boudreau

October 2nd, 2017

Bomgardner M.M. These four foods are ripe for CRISPR gene editing. Chemical & Engineering

News. 2017 Jun 12.

 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 2

http://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i24/four-foods-ripe-CRISPR-gene.html

In this article Melody M. Bomgardner sees the potential in CRISPR gene

editing. Bomgardner lists four mass produced crops that have expressed genes that

negatively affect them, and the ability to pass produce and consume them. She then

explains how gene editing can be a solution to each problem. The article is for a news site

called Chemical & Engineering News, so the article was written in a

way that is easy for most people to read and understand. It also Bomgardner organized

the article in a way the reader is always aware of four specific foods that are discussed.

Webb S. PLANTS IN THE CRISPR . BioTechnology. 2017;63(3):96101

http://www.biotechniques.com/multimedia/archive/00254/BTN_A_000114583_O_254966a.pdf

Science writer Sarah Webb explains how research scientists are trying to solve

agricultural problems. In the article Webb explains some of the difficulties that come

with gene manipulation. This form of gene manipulation is seemingly a simple solution,

but scientists have fcoe across some hurdles. First, plant cell walls makes it more difficult

to insert CRISPR-Cas9 genetic information into these cells, so scientists are working to

find ways around that. Another issue is that asexual reproduction of plants, and seedless

plants make the removal of the CRISPR-Cas9 much more difficult when gene

manipulation is complete.

Shi J, Gao H, Wang H, Lafitte HR, Archibald RL, Yang M, Hakimi SM, Mo H, Habben JE.

ARGOS8 variants generated by CRISPRCas9 improve maize grain yield under field drought

stress conditions. Wiley. 2016 Aug 17.

 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 3

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.12603/abstract;jsessionid=9C0EF8DB349726EE

1918F438FE3CD970.f02t01

Jinrui Shi and other contributors are able to manipulate the ARGOS8 regulating

enzyme in maize, making the crop more likely to survive in drought filled weather. This

is an actual lab report that shows the benefits of this kind of gene manipulation. The

authors explicitly list the procedures and records a large amount of observations from

their results. Then the authors analyze and discuss their new found information to predict

the future of crop breeding.

This is one example of a real world application of CRISPRCas9 gene

manipulation. I like how this lab report really goes in depth with the results that were

obtained.

Song G, Jia M, Chen K, Kong X, Khattak B, Xie C, Li A, Mao L. CRISPR/Cas9: A powerful

tool for crop genome editing. The Crop Journal. 2016;4(2):7582. http://ac.els-

cdn.com/S2214514116000192/1-s2.0-S2214514116000192-main.pdf?_tid=d8a0f81a-9bdf-11e7-

a6c3-00000aacb35f&acdnat=1505677317_22d8b437f8dfa85540ae08c5aed2e9ae

Gaoyuan Song and other contributors gave a history of how the CRISPR-Cas9

system was discovered and how it has evolved over time. The CRISPR/Cas system was

found in bacteria in 1987, but in 2005 scientists figured out these systems are able to

protect prokaryotic organisms from viruses that have the same genome sequence as itself.

This eventually led to scientists using these molecules to strengthen the genomes of many

organisms.The many authors of this article also gave an in depth explanation of how the

CRISPR-Cas9 works.
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 4

What is CRISPR-Cas9? YourGenome.org. 2016 Dec 19.

https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-crispr-cas9

YourGenome.org is a website that provides information about genetics. Created

by the Wellcome Genome Campus, located in the United Kingdom, this website gives an

overview of many subjects within the genetic field. The Wellcome Genome Campus is a

scientific research institute, where most of is research focuses on genomics a

computational biology. This specific article I worked with is the What is CRISPR-

Cas9? article. The article explains the purpose of CRISPR-Cas9, the actual process of

genome manipulation, and the application of the system. The article is also filled with

simple diagrams and pictures to help understand the text.

Rodriguez E. Ethical Issues in Genome Editing using Crispr/Cas9 System. Journal of Clinical

Research & Bioethics. 2016;7(2):14.

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/ethical-issues-in-genome-editing-using-crisprcas9-

system-2155-9627-1000266.pdf

In this article Rodriguez explores the Social, Legal and Ethical implications of

using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Rodriguez also explains the risks that come with gene

manipulation. Not all gene manipulation is good, and it is very possible for a gene over

manipulate to the point of being detrimental to the organism.

Liu D., Hu R., Palla K. J., Tuskan G. A., Yang X. Advances and perspectives on the use of

CRISPR/Cas9 systems in plant genomics research. 2016;30:7077

This article explains what are some of the effects of CRISPR-Cas9 system on

plants, specifically with the loss and gaining of gene functions caused by gene

manipulation in perennial plants. This article is intended for people who are in the know.
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 5

Lot of the vocabulary used in this article are not commonly used amongst people who

are not a part of this discourse community.

Martin K. C. Tips for Young Scientists on the Junior Faculty/Independent Investigator Job

Search. Neuron. 2017;93(4):731736.

Kelsey C. Martin gives tips on preparing to get a job in the science field, and

explained the steps most commonly taken to obtain a job in the science field at an

academic institution. Martin Goes through the entire process from applying for a job, to

the first day on the job.

Kelner K. Tips for Publishing in Scientific Journals. Science | American Association for the

Advancement of Science. 2016 Jan 12. http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2007/04/tips-

publishing-scientific-journals

This text gives tips for the process of becoming a published scientist. Also, in this

article Kelner mentions the probability of rejection of a research paper. Not all research

will be published, and it is likely a scientist research will be rejected, and Kelners Tips

for Publishing in Scientific Journals is the first article I have read that mentions that.

USDA Invests $13.6 Million in Citrus Greening Research. USDA. 2017 Jan 19

https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2017/01/19/usda-invests-136-million-citrus-

greening-research

This article is a summary of a press release the United States Department of

Agriculture had on Huanglongbing. This article states that usda has continued to invest in

research for a solution to HLB. The article is formal and matter-of-fact, yet uses simple

language. This is because it is intended for a large audience, the people of the United

States.
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 6

Literary Review

Today scientist have been able to use a specific system called CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered

Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats with protein-9 nuclease) to manipulate

genomes of organisms. My research project focuses on the process of obtaining a job in a

laboratory that allows me to further research this specific use of gene editing as a possible

solution to the recent Huanglongbing epidemic in Florida oranges. My research was divided into

three main sections, Defining and explaining CRISPR-Cas9, explaining the issue of

Huanglongbing in Florida, and the steps to getting a job in a lab to research this issue. Each

aspect of my research is intended to help me on my journey to one day working in a lab.

Most of my research was found in the ScienceDirect Database. The database was easier

to use than a general topic database because it was more directed for the science field. Skimming

through several articles, I have made a few observations. Most people who work in an academic

research institute lab has had their work published. Katrina Kelner is the founding editor is the

science journal, Science Translational Medicine, and in the article Tips for Publishing in

Scientific Journals, she gives tips on how to get scientific work published. The fact that she had

edited works for a scientific journal, I believe she has good insight on the process of becoming a

published scientist. Throughout the article Kelner is very conversational. She references the

reader throughout the article by using the word you..This makes the article more personal to

the reader. For me it was was fun and interesting read that, and Kelner kept me engaged with the

rhetorical questions sprinkled in throughout the article. My second observation is, many people

who are published work under or are affiliated an academic institution. Kelsey C. Martin

explains in Tips for Young Scientists on the Junior Faculty/Independent Investigator Job
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 7

Search, external support is very important in becoming a successful research scientist because

research requires funding, and many universities supply grants to conduct research. Martins

approach in her article is more conversational as well. She directly references the reader, as if she

is having a conversation with the reader. Both authors write in a way that they are giving advice

to people who are trying to reach similar standing as they are in, when they wrote their articles.

These articles are beneficial in the job seeking aspect of my project.

When researching Huanglongbing issue in Florida, I noticed there is an urgency for a

solution. The United States Department of Agriculture announced in a press release that $400

million has already been invested, since 2009, in finding a solution in this issue. The press

release shows the urgency of the matter at hand, and how different organizations are more than

willing to provide funding for researching a solution. ARGOS8 variants generated by CRISPR

Cas9 improve maize grain yield under field drought stress conditions, is an actual lab report of

an experiment that uses CRISPR-Cas9 on a plant. Although the experiment was not about

oranges, plants have similar genomes, so I felt the report was applicable to my research. This lab

report is intended for people who have a deep understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 and plant

genomes. I had to read paragraphs multiple times to understand what was explained. When

reading the report, I also had to google a lot of terms that had to do with plant parts and genomes.

These sources showed the landscape of the field of work I am researching.

When looking for an article that explains CRISPR-Cas9, the What Is CRISPR-Cas9,

by the YourGenome website explained it well. Although the article is short, and is written in

bullet form, it gives a nice overview of what CRISPR-Cas9 is. For my research I want to focus

on how CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing affects the foods that people eat and the article These four

foods are ripe for CRISPR gene editing, provides four real examples of how gene editing can
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 8

be potentially be a great solution for crop breeding. These two articles were written in a less

formal way. The YourGenome website appears to be extremely user friendly, and the language

that is used to explain complex concepts is simple. Melody M. Bomgardeners article is for a

news site, but the article is directed more towards people who know what CRISPR-Cas9 is used

for. She only provides examples of the systems uses, but she does not explain the process at any

point of the article. The article A powerful tool for crop genome editing.There was no

sugarcoating of information in this article. It relayed as much information as possible, with little

to no fluff. The article was not intended to entertain any audience. The text provided me with a

timeline of scientists understanding of CRISPR-Cas9. It also provided other references to look

into about CRISPR-Cas9. I also was interested in how the authors of this article dabbled in the

side-effects of gene manipulation, and problems that arose with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, such

as how the gene manipulation affects neighboring genes.

Scientists still have a general surface understanding of CRISPR-Cas9, its implications,

and its effects. E. Rodriguez discusses some of those issues in the article, Ethical Issues in

Genome Editing using Crispr/Cas9 System. Prior to reading this article, I did not think about

the ecological effects of gene manipulation. It brought a lot of questions to my mind such as,

what happens to the unmanipulated organisms, will they die out? And how do these new,

stronger organisms affect the ecosystem as a whole? These are questions that still have no

answer to this day because of how little scientist know of the long term effects. Thinking of gene

manipulation from a legal perspective, there is a debate on the regulation of these gene

manipulated crops as well. Sarah Webb explains in Plants in the CRISPR,American regulators

create laws that focus on the end product of the crop, while European regulators create laws that

focus on the actual process of gene manipulation. These article show that there is no concrete
 CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Manipulation in the Foods We Eat Annotated Bibliography 9

widespread understanding of CRISPR-Cas9. This provided motivation to learn more about

CRISPR-Cas9 for the future.