Efficient Genome Editing of Mice by CRISPR Electroporation of Zygotes

Summary

Here, we describe a simple technique intended for the efficient generation of genetically modified mice called CRISPR RNP Electroporation of Zygotes (CRISPR-EZ). This method delivers editing reagents by electroporation into embryos at an efficiency approaching 100%. This protocol is effective for point mutations, small genomic insertions, and deletions in mammalian embryos.

Abstract

With exceptional efficiency, accuracy, and ease, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has significantly improved genome editing in cell culture and lab animal experiments. When generating animal models, the electroporation of zygotes offers higher efficiency, simplicity, cost, and throughput as an alternative to the gold standard method of microinjection. Electroporation is also gentler, with higher viability, and reliably delivers Cas9/single-guide RNA (sgRNA) ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) into the zygotes of common laboratory mouse strains (e.g., C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N) that approaches 100% delivery efficiency. This technique enables insertion/deletion (indels) mutations, point mutations, the deletion of whole genes or exons, and small insertions in the range of 100-200 bp to insert LoxP or short tags like FLAG, HA, or V5. While constantly being improved, here we present the current state of CRISPR-EZ in a protocol that includes sgRNA production through in vitro transcription, embryo processing, RNP assembly, electroporation, and the genotyping of preimplantation embryos. A graduate-level researcher with minimal experience manipulating embryos can obtain genetically edited embryos in less than 1 week using this protocol. Here, we offer a straightforward, low-cost, efficient, high-capacity method that could be used with mouse embryos.

Introduction

Genome editing in live mice has been considerably simplified and has become accessible and more affordable since the emergence of CRISPR editing^1,2,3. Initial animal editing attempts used microinjection to deliver CRISPR Cas9 mRNA/sgRNA into pronuclear-stage embryos^4,5,6. While microinjection is quite effective, the amount of practice required to fully master it might not be appropriate for trainees and students and also requires expensive equipment that a modestly funded lab is unab....

Protocol

All animal care and use throughout this protocol adhered to Animal Welfare Act policies the ILAR Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and followed guidelines from the AVMA for euthanasia and the University of Pennsylvania Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) guidelines and policies. The animal care and use protocol was reviewed and approved by the University of Pennsylvania IACUC for this project. As a matter of compliance and caution, please seek out all necessary authorizations prior to attempting this protocol.

1. sgRNA and optional donor oligo design

1. sgRNA design
   1. Select can....

Results

This method generates more than 100 µg of sgRNA (20 µL at >6,000 ng/L concentration) for efficient Cas9/sgRNA RNP assembly. The routine superovulation method described here typically produces 10-20 viable embryos per plugged female. Due to handling errors and typical losses associated with embryo manipulation, an expected 80% of embryos are fertilized, viable, and in excellent condition after electroporation. To aid researchers in executing a successful experiment, we have provided an example strategy to ta.......

Discussion

Presented here is a straightforward and highly efficient mouse genome editing technology. Electroporation can be used to generate modified embryos in 1-2 weeks (Figure 1) and can produce edited mice within 6 weeks⁹. Compared to contemporaneously developed electroporation-based protocols that deliver RNPs^7,10,11,12,

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.1-cm-gap electroporation cuvette	Bio-Rad	cat. no. 1652089	Electroporation
26-G, 1/2-inch needle	BD	cat. no. 305111	Superovulation
3–8-month-old male mice and 3- to 5-week-old female mice	JAX	cat. no. 000664	Superovulation
35-mm Tissue culture dish	Greiner Bio-One,	cat. no. 627-160	Embryo Culture
60-mm Tissue culture dish	Greiner Bio-One,	cat. no. 628-160	Embryo Processing
6x loading dye	Thermo Fisher Scientific	cat. no. R0611	sgRNA Synthesis and Genotyping
Acidic Tyrode's (AT) solution, embryo culture grade	Sigma-Aldrich,	cat. no. T1788	Embryo Processing
BSA, embryo culture grade	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. A3311	Embryo Processing and Culture
Cas9 protein	Alt-R S.p. Cas9 nuclease 3NLS	cat. no. 1074181	Electroporation
DNase I, RNase-free	New England BioLabs,	cat. no. M0303	sgRNA Synthesis
DPBS(calcium and magnesium free)	Gibco	cat. no. 14190-144	Embryo Processing
EcoRI	NEB	cat. no. R3101S	Genotyping
EDTA, anhydrous	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. EDS-100G	RNP Buffer
Ethanol	Koptec	cat. no. V1016	sgRNA Synthesis
Gelatin (powder) type B, laboratory grade	Fisher,	cat. no. G7-500	Lysis Buffer
Glycerol, molecular-biology grade	Fisher	cat. no. BP229	RNP Buffer
Taq Polymerase	Promega	cat. no. M712	Genotyping
HEPES, cell culture grade	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. H4034	RNP Buffer
HinfI (10,000 U/mL)	NEB	cat. no. R0155S	Genotyping
HiScribe T7 High Yield RNA Synthesis Kit	New England BioLabs,	cat. no. E2040	sgRNA Synthesis
Human chorion gonadotropin, lyophilized (hCG)	Millipore	cat. no. 230734	Superovulation
Hyaluronidase/M2	Millipore	cat. no. MR-051-F	Embryo Processing
KSOMaa Evolve medium (potassium-supplemented simplex-optimized medium plus amino acids)	Zenith Biotech	cat. no. ZEKS-050	Embryo Culture
LE agarose, analytical grade	BioExpress	cat. no. E-3120-500	sgRNA Synthesis and Genotyping
M2 medium	Zenith Biotech	cat. no. ZFM2-050	Embryo Processing
Magnesium chloride, anhydrous (MgCl2)	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. M8266	RNP and Lysis Buffer
Mineral Oil	Millipore	cat. no. ES-005C	Embryo Culture
Nonidet P-40,substitute (NP-40)	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. 74385	Lysis Buffer
Nuclease-free water, molecular-biology grade	Ambion	cat. no. AM9937	sgRNA Synthesis and Genotyping
Oligos for sgRNA synthesis, donor oligo and PCR primers for genotyping	Integrated DNA Technologies	custom orders	sgRNA Design
Reduced serum medium	Thermo Fisher Scientific	cat. no. 31985062	Embryo Culture
High-fidelity DNA polymerase	New England BioLabs,	cat. no. M0530	sgRNA Synthesis
Potassium chloridemolecular-biology grade (KCl)	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. P9333	RNP and Lysis Buffer
Pregnant mare serum gonadotropin lyophilizd ((PMSG)	ProspecBio	cat. no. HOR-272	Superovulation
Proteinase K, molecular-biology grade	Fisher	cat. no. BP1700-100	Lysis Buffer
RNase-free 1.5-mL microcentrifuge tube	VWR	cat. no. 20170-333	sgRNA Synthesis and Genotyping
RNase-free eight-well PCR strip tubes	VWR	cat. no. 82006-606	sgRNA Synthesis and Genotyping
Magnetic purification beads	GE Healthcare	cat. no. 65152105050250	sgRNA Synthesis
Tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP)	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. C4706	RNP Buffer
Tris-HCl solution, pH 8.5 molecular-biology grade	Teknova	cat. no. T1085	Lysis Buffer
Tween 20 molecular-biology grade	Sigma-Aldrich	cat. no. P7949-500	Lysis Buffer