Basem Al-Shayeb

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Basem Al-Shayeb, is the founder and former Chief Technology Officer [1] [2] of Amber Bio, which aims to develop multi-kilobase RNA editing therapies and has raised $26 million in funding. [3] [4] [5] [6] He is a researcher at the Innovative Genomics Institute. [7] He led the discovery of the largest known bacteriophages, [8] [9] [10] [11] the smallest CRISPR gene editing systems, [12] [13] [14] [15] and Borgs in methane-oxidizing archaea. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] He was named Forbes 30 Under 30 and Arab America's 30 Under 30. [21] [22]

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A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected or altered, often to exclude a particular gene or to remove genes associated with disease. This process usually involves analysing a wide range of human embryos to identify genes associated with particular diseases and characteristics, and selecting embryos that have the desired genetic makeup; a process known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Screening for single genes is commonly practiced, and polygenic screening is offered by a few companies. Other methods by which a baby's genetic information can be altered involve directly editing the genome before birth, which is not routinely performed and only one instance of this is known to have occurred as of 2019, where Chinese twins Lulu and Nana were edited as embryos, causing widespread criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insertion (genetics)</span> Type of mutation

In genetics, an insertion is the addition of one or more nucleotide base pairs into a DNA sequence. This can often happen in microsatellite regions due to the DNA polymerase slipping. Insertions can be anywhere in size from one base pair incorrectly inserted into a DNA sequence to a section of one chromosome inserted into another. The mechanism of the smallest single base insertion mutations is believed to be through base-pair separation between the template and primer strands followed by non-neighbor base stacking, which can occur locally within the DNA polymerase active site. On a chromosome level, an insertion refers to the insertion of a larger sequence into a chromosome. This can happen due to unequal crossover during meiosis.

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Guide RNA (gRNA) or single guide RNA (sgRNA) is a short sequence of RNA that functions as a guide for the Cas9-endonuclease or other Cas-proteins that cut the double-stranded DNA and thereby can be used for gene editing. In bacteria and archaea, gRNAs are a part of the CRISPR-Cas system that serves as an adaptive immune defense that protects the organism from viruses. Here the short gRNAs serve as detectors of foreign DNA and direct the Cas-enzymes that degrades the foreign nucleic acid.

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CRISPR gene editing standing for "Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats" is a genetic engineering technique in molecular biology by which the genomes of living organisms may be modified. It is based on a simplified version of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 antiviral defense system. By delivering the Cas9 nuclease complexed with a synthetic guide RNA (gRNA) into a cell, the cell's genome can be cut at a desired location, allowing existing genes to be removed and/or new ones added in vivo.

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Anti-CRISPR is a group of proteins found in phages, that inhibit the normal activity of CRISPR-Cas, the immune system of certain bacteria. CRISPR consists of genomic sequences that can be found in prokaryotic organisms, that come from bacteriophages that infected the bacteria beforehand, and are used to defend the cell from further viral attacks. Anti-CRISPR results from an evolutionary process occurred in phages in order to avoid having their genomes destroyed by the prokaryotic cells that they will infect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LEAPER gene editing</span> Gene editing method

LEAPER is a genetic engineering technique in molecular biology by which RNA can be edited. The technique relies on engineered strands of RNA to recruit native ADAR enzymes to swap out different compounds in RNA. Developed by researchers at Peking University in 2019, the technique, some have claimed, is more efficient than the CRISPR gene editing technique. Initial studies have claimed that editing efficiencies of up to 80%.

Mammoth Biosciences is a biotechnology company based in Brisbane, California developing diagnostic tests using CRISPR-Cas12a and CRISPR-based therapies using its proprietary ultra-small CRISPR systems. Several CRISPR-Cas systems identified through the company's metagenomics-based protein discovery platform, including members of the Casφ and Cas14 families of CRISPR-associated enzymes, have demonstrated potential for therapeutic genome editing in in vivo settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borg (microbiology)</span> Aspect of DNA sequences

A borg is a "giant extrachromosomal element with the potential to augment methane oxidation", described by Basem Al-Shayeb and Jill Banfield. Borgs are long DNA sequences existing alongside the main chromosome in the archaea Methanoperedens, in oxygen-starved environments such as deep mud. Borgs were discovered by Professor Jill Banfield and her team in the soil of a wetland, an aquifer, a riverbed, and a deserted mercury mine in the states of California and Colorado.

The Fanzor (Fz) protein is an eukaryotic, RNA-guided DNA endonuclease, which means it is a type of DNA cutting enzyme that uses RNA to target genes of interest. It has been recently discovered and explored in a number of studies. In bacteria, RNA-guided DNA endonuclease systems, such as the CRISPR/Cas system, serve as an immune system to prevent infection by cutting viral genetic material. Currently, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated's DNA cleavage has extensive application in biological research, and wide-reaching medical potential in human gene editing.

CRISPR-associated transposons or CASTs are mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that have evolved to make use of minimal CRISPR systems for RNA-guided transposition of their DNA. Unlike traditional CRISPR systems that contain interference mechanisms to degrade targeted DNA, CASTs lack proteins and/or protein domains responsible for DNA cleavage. Specialized transposon machinery, similar to that of the well characterized Tn7 transposon, complexes with the CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and associated Cas proteins for transposition. CAST systems have been characterized in a wide range of bacteria and make use of variable CRISPR configurations including Type I-F, Type I-B, Type I-C, Type I-D, Type I-E, Type IV, and Type V-K. MGEs remain an important part of genetic exchange by horizontal gene transfer and CASTs have been implicated in the exchange of antibiotic resistance and antiviral defense mechanisms, as well as genes involved in central carbon metabolism. These systems show promise for genetic engineering due to their programmability, PAM flexibility, and ability to insert directly into the host genome without double strand breaks requiring activation of host repair mechanisms. They also lack Cas1 and Cas2 proteins and so rely on other more complete CRISPR systems for spacer acquisition in trans.

The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) is a nonprofit scientific research institute founded by Nobel laureate and CRISPR gene editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna and biophysicist Jonathan Weissman. The institute is based at the University of California, Berkeley, and also has member researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, UC Davis, UCLA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Gladstone Institutes, and other collaborating research institutions. The IGI focuses on developing real-world applications of genome editing to address problems in human health, agriculture and climate change.

References

  1. ↑ "Amber Bio". Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  2. ↑ "Amber Bio". Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  3. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/indiarice/2023/08/03/this-startup-just-raised-26-million-to-develop-safer-gene-editing-tools/?sh=7daeb5094382
  4. ↑ https://www.genengnews.com/topics/genome-editing/new-rna-editing-company-amber-bio-launches-multi-kilobase-editing-platform/
  5. ↑ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230803489484/en/Amber-Bio-Raises-26-Million-Seed-Financing-Co-Led-by-Playground-Global-and-Andreessen-Horowitz-to-Advance-New-RNA-Based-Gene-Editing-Platform
  6. ↑ https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/gene-editing/RNA-editing-startAmber-Bio-launches/101/web/2023/08
  7. ↑ "Meet an IGI Scientist: Basem Al-Shayeb". Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  8. ↑ York, Ashley (April 2020). "Too big to be ignored". Nature Reviews Microbiology. 18 (4): 192. doi: 10.1038/s41579-020-0341-z . ISSN   1740-1534. PMID   32066943. S2CID   211127892.
  9. ↑ Koumoundouros, Tessa. "Scientists Discover Giant Viruses With Features Only Seen Before in Living Cells". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  10. ↑ "Hundreds Of New Viruses With Enormous Genomes Blur The Boundaries Of Life". IFLScience. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  11. ↑ Knapp, Alex. "30 Under 30 In Science 2021: Building Better Trees, Supernova Simulations And Holograms". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  12. ↑ "News: Tiny but Mighty: How Researchers Found a New Game-Changing CRISPR Tool". CRISPR Medicine. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  13. ↑ Mayer, Kevin (2020-07-16). "Tiny Cas Protein, Huge Gene Editing Potential … Thanks, Megaphage!". GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  14. ↑ S, Robert; ers; relations|, Media (2020-07-16). "Megaphages harbor mini-Cas proteins ideal for gene editing". Berkeley News. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  15. ↑ "Basem Al-Shayeb". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  16. ↑ "Previously undiscovered DNA 'borgs' found on California wetlands". The Independent. 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  17. ↑ Staff, Lauren Huang | (2021-07-19). "UC Berkeley researchers discover unique DNA sequences". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  18. ↑ "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, BECAUSE STAR TREK'S BORG ARE REAL AND CAN ASSIMILATE DNA FROM MICROBES". SYFY. August 2, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Mysterious DNA sequences, known as 'Borgs,' recovered from California mud". www.science.org. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  20. ↑ "Scientists discover Borgs, DNA strands that assimilate genes from their hosts". cen.acs.org. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  21. ↑ "Basem Al-Shayeb". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  22. ↑ "Arab America Foundation Announces 30 Under 30 Awardees-Class of 2021". Arab America. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
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