Project description:Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder caused by loss-of-function heterozygous mutations of MECP2. Reactivation of the silent wild-type MECP2 allele on the inactive X chromosome (Xi) represents a promising therapeutic opportunity for female RTT patients. Here, we applied a multiplex epigenome editing approach to reactivate MECP2 on Xi. Demethylation of the MECP2 promoter by dCas9-Tet1 with target sgRNA reactivated MECP2 on Xi in RTT hESCs without detectable off-target effects at the transcriptome level. Neurons derived from methylation edited RTT hESCs reversed the smaller soma size and electrophysiological abnormalities. Insulation of the methylation edited MECP2 locus in RTT neurons by dCpf1-CTCF with target crRNA stabilized MECP2 reactivation and rescued the RTT-related neuronal defects, providing a proof-of-concept study for multiplex epigenome editing to treat RTT. Evaluation of off-target effects of dCpf1-CTCF with crRNA targeting CTCF binding flanking MECP2 locus
Project description:The use of CRISPR/Cas proteins for the creation of multiplex genome-engineering represents an important avenue for crop improvement, and further improvements for creation of knock-in plant lines via CRISPR-based technologies may enable the high-throughput creation of designer alleles. To circumvent limitations of the commonly used CRISPR/Cas9 system for multiplex genome-engineering, we explored the use of Moraxella bovoculi 3 Cas12a (Mb3Cas12a) for multiplex genome-editing in Arabidopsis thaliana. We identified optimized promoter sequences for driving expression of single transcript multiplex crRNA arrays in A. thaliana, resulting in stable germline transmission of Mb3Cas12a-edited alleles at multiple target sites. By utilizing this system, we demonstrate single-transcript multiplexed genome-engineering using of up to 13 crRNA targets. We further show high target specificity of Mb3Cas12a-based genome-editing via whole-genome sequencing. Taken together, our method provides a simplified platform for efficient multiplex-genome-engineering in plant-based systems.
Project description:Comparison of two different multiplex PCR primer pools in amplifying target HPV types from plasmid templates. Template concentrations are either 1 ng or 1 pg. Templates are detected by type-spcific LDR probes hybridized on microarray.
Project description:Comparison of two different multiplex PCR primer pools in amplifying target HPV types from plasmid templates. Template concentrations are either 10 pg or 100 pg. Templates are detected by type-spcific LDR probes hybridized on microarray.
Project description:Emerging 3D genome mapping efforts suggest complex chromosomal folding structures. However, the true multiplex nature of chromatin interactions has yet to be fully explored. Here, we describe a chromatin interaction analysis by droplet-based sequencing (ChIA-Drop). In ChIA-Drop, individual chromatin complexes are partitioned into droplets that contain a gel bead of DNA-barcoded primers, such that tethered chromatin DNA fragments are uniquely indexed and amplified for sequencing and mapping to demarcate multiplex chromatin contacts. Thus, ChIA-Drop can identify complex chromatin interactions with unprecedented single-molecule precision, which is not possible using methods that analyze pairwise contacts via proximity ligation. We demonstrate that multiplex chromatin interactions predominantly contribute to topologically associated domains with high heterogeneity, and that multivalent promoter-centered interactions provide a topological model for gene transcription.
Project description:DNA methylation is a complex epigenetic marker that can be analysed using a wide variety of methods. Interpretation and visualisation of DNA methylation data can mask complexity in terms of methylation status at each CpG site, cellular heterogeneity of samples and allelic DNA methylation patterns within a given DNA strand. Bisulfite sequencing is considered the gold standard, however visualisation of massively parallel sequencing results remains a significant challenge. We created a program called Methpat that facilitates visualisation and interpretation of bisulfite sequencing data generated by massively parallel sequencing. To demonstrate this, we performed multiplex PCR that targeted 48 regions of interest across 95 human samples. The regions selected included known gene promoters associated with cancer, repetitive elements, known imprinted regions and mitochondrial genomic sequences. We interrogated a range of samples including human cell lines, primary tumours and primary tissue samples. Methpat generates two forms of output: a tab delimited text file for each sample that summarises DNA methylation patterns and their read counts for each amplicon and a HTML file that summarises this data visually. Methpat can be used with publicly available whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) datasets with sufficient read depths. Using Methpat, complex DNA methylation data derived from massively parallel sequencing can be summarised and visualised for biological interpretation. By accounting for allelic DNA methylation states and their abundance in a sample, Methpat can unmask the complexity of DNA methylation and reveal further biological insight in existing datasets. Multiplex bisulfite PCR and Next Generation sequencing of primary human samples and breast cancer cell lines.