Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
Program of Biomedical Computation, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
Nat Commun. 2024 Aug 3;15(1):6563. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50767-2.
Equitable and accessible education in life sciences, bioengineering, and synthetic biology is crucial for training the next generation of scientists, fostering transparency in public decision-making, and ensuring biotechnology can benefit a wide-ranging population. As a groundbreaking technology for genome engineering, CRISPR has transformed research and therapeutics. However, hands-on exposure to this technology in educational settings remains limited due to the extensive resources required for CRISPR experiments. Here, we develop CRISPRkit, an affordable kit designed for gene editing and regulation in high school education. CRISPRkit eliminates the need for specialized equipment, prioritizes biosafety, and utilizes cost-effective reagents. By integrating CRISPRi gene regulation, colorful chromoproteins, cell-free transcription-translation systems, smartphone-based quantification, and an in-house automated algorithm (CRISPectra), our kit offers an inexpensive (~$2) and user-friendly approach to performing and analyzing CRISPR experiments, without the need for a traditional laboratory setup. Experiments conducted by high school students in classroom settings highlight the kit's utility for reliable CRISPRkit experiments. Furthermore, CRISPRkit provides a modular and expandable platform for genome engineering, and we demonstrate its applications for controlling fluorescent proteins and metabolic pathways such as melanin production. We envision CRISPRkit will facilitate biotechnology education for communities of diverse socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds.
生命科学、生物工程和合成生物学领域的公平和可及的教育对于培养下一代科学家、促进公共决策的透明度以及确保生物技术能够使广泛的人群受益至关重要。作为基因组工程的一项开创性技术，CRISPR 已经改变了研究和治疗方法。然而，由于 CRISPR 实验需要大量资源，因此在教育环境中进行实际操作的机会仍然有限。在这里，我们开发了 CRISPRkit，这是一种价格实惠的试剂盒，用于高中教育中的基因编辑和调控。CRISPRkit 消除了对专用设备的需求，优先考虑生物安全性，并利用具有成本效益的试剂。通过整合 CRISPRi 基因调控、彩色显色蛋白、无细胞转录翻译系统、基于智能手机的定量分析以及内部自动化算法（CRISPectra），我们的试剂盒提供了一种廉价（约 2 美元）且易于使用的方法来进行和分析 CRISPR 实验，而无需传统的实验室设置。在课堂环境中由高中生进行的实验突出了该试剂盒在进行可靠的 CRISPRkit 实验方面的实用性。此外，CRISPRkit 为基因组工程提供了一个模块化和可扩展的平台，我们展示了它在控制荧光蛋白和代谢途径（如黑色素生成）方面的应用。我们设想 CRISPRkit 将促进具有不同社会经济和地理背景的社区的生物技术教育。
