Geneome editing Genome editing is a technique in molecular biology which utilizes engineered endonucleases to edit the genomic sequence of a diverse range of cell types and organisms (1). Engineered endonucleases, such as zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and cluster regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system, enable specific genetic modifications by inducing targeted DNA double stranded breaks to activate repair pathways (2). In the presence of a homologous repair template a specific gene can be inserted at the break point while the absence of a homologous repair template can result in non-homologous end joining; thereby, disrupting the target sequence and averting the functionality of the gene (3).

References 1.Kim H, Kim JS. A guide to genome engineering with programmable nucleases. Nat Rev Genet. 2014;15(5):321–34. doi: 10.1038/Nrg3686. ISI:000334599700010. pmid:24690881 2. Gaj T, Gersbach C, and Barbas C. ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas-based methods for genome engineering. Trends Biotechnol. 2013:31(7): 397-405. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2013.04.004 3. New England BioLabs. Gene editing. Available at: https://www.neb.com/applications/cloning-and-synthetic-biology/genome-editing. Verified on: February 11. 2016.