Genome modification by CRISPR/Cas9

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) 9-mediated genome modification enables us to edit the genomes of a variety of organisms rapidly and efficiently. The advantages of the CRISPR/Cas9 system have made it an increasingly popular genetic engineering tool for biological and therapeutic applications. Moreover, CRISPR/Cas9 has been employed to recruit functional domains that repress/activate gene expression or label specific genomic loci in living cells or organisms, in order to explore developmental mechanisms, gene expression regulation, and animal behavior. One major concern about this system is its specificity; although CRISPR/Cas9-mediated off-target mutation has been broadly studied, more efforts are required to further improve the specificity of CRISPR/Cas9. We will also discuss the potential applications of CRISPR/Cas9.