Okuzeka
Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Genetic Engineering and CRISPR

CRISPR

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

/ˈkrɪspər/abbreviationCore term

In genetics & biotechnology, CRISPR means: A gene-editing technology, adapted from a bacterial defense system, in which a guide RNA leads an enzyme such as Cas9 to a chosen DNA sequence so that it can be cut and changed.

In Turkish: CRISPR, CRISPR-Cas9 gen düzenleme

How it is used

Used everywhere in modern research. The full name is 'clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats'. People say 'CRISPR-Cas9', 'CRISPR screen' and 'CRISPR knockout', and in lab talk even use it as a verb: 'we CRISPRed out the gene'. Its developers received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Example sentences

  1. We used CRISPR to knock out the gene in a human cell line.

  2. A genome-wide CRISPR screen identified twelve genes needed for viral entry.

Common collocations

  • CRISPR-Cas9
  • CRISPR screen
  • CRISPR editing
  • CRISPR knockout
  • CRISPR technology
  • guide RNAA short RNA molecule that leads a CRISPR enzyme such as Cas9 to the exact DNA sequence to be cut, by matching about 20 bases of the target.
  • gene editingMaking precise, targeted changes to the DNA of a living cell or organism, such as cutting out, correcting or inserting a sequence at a chosen position.
  • knockoutA cell or organism in which a specific gene has been made inactive on purpose, so that researchers can study what happens without it.
  • off-target effectAn unwanted change at a place in the genome that was not intended, for example when a CRISPR guide RNA also cuts a similar sequence somewhere else.
  • genetic engineeringThe deliberate changing of an organism's DNA in the lab, for example by adding, removing or altering genes, to give it new or improved characteristics.

More terms: Genetic Engineering and CRISPR

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: