Development and Application of Gene Base Editors

Gene editing technology can modify or repair target genes by targeted insertion, knockout or replacement. The BE (base editor) developed by CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat) and Cas (CRISPR-associated) is a new generation of gene editing tools that has achieved efficient single base substitution without DNA double strand breaks, including CBE (cytosine base editor), ABE (adenine base editor), A&CBE (adenine and cytosine base editor). After a series of optimization and improvement, the base editors are expected to provide a feasible new means of clinical treatment for patients with point-mutation genetic diseases. At the same time, the mitochondrial base editor based on ZF (zinc-finger) and TALE (transcription activator-like effector) structure fills the blank of mitochondrial gene editing. Here, this study mainly overviews the development, optimization and classification of base editors, and summarizes the research progress of using base editors to model human point-mutation diseases and gene correction editing in mice, zebrafish and the plants breeding.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2022.12.0008