A frugal CRISPR kit for equitable and accessible education in gene editing and synthetic biology

Collins, Marvin; Lau, Matthew B.; Ma, William; Shen, Aidan; Wang, Brenda; Cai, Sa; La Russa, Marie; Jewett, Michael C.; Qi, Lei S.

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50767-2

A frugal CRISPR kit for equitable and accessible education in gene editing and synthetic biology

Journal Article · Sat Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50767-2· OSTI ID:2472009

^[1]; Lau, Matthew B. ^[2]; Ma, William ^[3]; Shen, Aidan ^[4]; Wang, Brenda ^[2]; Cai, Sa ^[2]; La Russa, Marie ^[2]; Jewett, Michael C. ^[2]; ^[5]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Chinese International School (Hong Kong)
East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA (United States)

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.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0023278

OSTI ID:: 2472009

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
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A frugal CRISPR kit for equitable and accessible education in gene editing and synthetic biology

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References (33)

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