Development of a marker-free mutagenesis system using CRISPR-Cas9 in the pathogenic mould Aspergillus fumigatus.

Development of a marker-free mutagenesis system using CRISPR-Cas9 in the pathogenic mould Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genet Biol. 2020 Oct 26;:103479 Authors: van Rhijn N, Furukawa T, Zhao C, McCann BL, Bignell E, Bromley MJ Abstract Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungal pathogen that is the cause of more than 300,000 life-threatening infections annually. Our understanding of pathogenesis and factors contributing to disease progression are limited. Development of rapid and versatile gene editing methodologies for A. fumigatus is essential. CRISPR-Cas9 mediated transformation has been widely used as a novel genome editing tool and has been used for a variety of editing techniques, such as protein tagging, gene deletions and site-directed mutagenesis in A. fumigatus. However, successful genome editing relies on time consuming, multi-step cloning procedures paired with the use of selection markers, which can result in a metabolic burden for the host and/or unintended transcriptional modifications at the site of integration. We have used an in vitro CRISPR-Cas9 assembly methodology to perform selection-free genome editing, including epitope tagging of proteins and site-directed mutagenesis. The repair template used during this transformation use 50bp micro-homology arms and can be generated with a single PCR reaction or by purchasing synthesised single stranded oligonucleotides, decreasing the time required for complex construc...
Source: Fungal Genetics and Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Fungal Genet Biol Source Type: research