CRISPR isn’t just for editing human embryos, it also works

for plants and bugs: 5 essential reads

If you’ve been stunned by all the alarming reports of gene-edited

babies, you might have the impression that the only purpose of CRISPR,
the genetic technology that enables biologists to edit DNA, is meddling
with the human genome. You may be relieved to learn, as I know I was,
that engineering human traits isn’t so simple. Cecile Janssens of
Emory University explains that the most desirable traits are the product
of dozens or hundreds of genes interacting with the environment. Such
traits can’t be designed by fiddling with a gene or two.

Over the last year of covering CRISPR applications, I’ve come to

recognize that a better reflection of the gene-editing technology’s
promise is visible in the labs of scientists creating new varieties of
plants.

1. CRISPR AND CROPS

Given all the controversy associated with genetically modified crops,
you might be wondering whether CRISPR is any different. Plant
geneticist Yi Li from the University of Connecticut argued that CRISPR’s
precision makes it different from GMOs because no foreign genes
from other species are added to the plant. Li used CRISPR to engineer
citrus trees that are resistant to the greening disease Huanglongbing,
which has devastated citrus crops in Florida and other parts of the
world.

2. CRISPR AND ORGANIC FARMING

Plant pathologist Rebecca Mackelprang of the University of California,
Berkeley suggests that some forms of CRISPR editing mimic naturally
occurring genetic mutations that arise spontaneously in nature,
which means this biotechnology can actually help meet the goals of
organic farming. Furthermore she explains how CRISPR is a way for
academic researchers to enter the world dominated by Big Ag.

3. CRISPR AND TAMING WILD PLANTS

CRISPR may also be a vital tool as the changing climate makes it difficult
to grow crops. Nathan Reem and Esperanza Shenstone of Cornell
University explain how wild plants with crop potential can be rapidly
domesticated using gene editing. They worked on the groundcherry
and showed how the plant could be made to grow more compactly and
produce larger fruit. Similar modifications could help struggling crops
adapt to warmer conditions. To do the same thing using traditional
plant breeding techniques, by comparison, could take hundreds of
years.

4. CRISPR AND PUBLIC HEALTH

When it comes to public health, there are many useful applications that
have nothing to do with editing the DNA of human embryos. Jay
Shendure’s team at the University of Washington used CRISPR as a tool
to figure out which mutations in the breast cancer genes 1 and 2 –
BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 – were harmless and which ones were likely to
dramatically raise the risk of breast or ovarian cancer.

5. CRISPR AND MALARIA

A more controversial application of CRISPR is engineering a gene drive –
a genetic mechanism that helps a trait spread through a population
faster than it would naturally. Andrea Crisanti and Kyros Kyrou show
how a gene drive can successfully crash a population of mosquitoes
in their laboratory. The intended application: wiping out mosquitoes
that spread malaria. It’s a radical and irreversible approach – which is
why it is still years away from use in the field. But it offers a peek into
genetic approaches to controlling this and other mosquito-borne
diseases.