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Recently, the molecular biology community has drawn nuclear bomb-level news that AI has successfully rewritten human DNA.
In recent years, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has brought new possibilities to the evolution of gene editors. Recently, an AI protein design company called Profluent announced the launch of the OpenCRISPRTM initiative, releasing OpenCRISPR-1, the world's first AI-generated gene editor.
The advent of OpenCRISPR-1 represents the great potential of artificial intelligence in the field of gene editing. Through AI training, the company's technology can learn from large-scale sequences and biological contexts to generate millions of CRISPR-like proteins that do not exist in nature, exponentially expanding almost all known CRISPR families. This means that we can hopefully unblock gene editors that are constrained by natural evolution, helping to design more adaptable and powerful gene editors.
The researchers trained LLMs (Language Model for protein engineering) on a dataset of CRISPR-based gene editing systems, and these LLMs produced proteins that expanded the diversity of almost all naturally occurring CRISPR-Cas families by a factor of 4.8. What's more, these gene editors have shown comparable or even better activity and specificity in human cells than currently known gene editors, meaning we have our own genomic code.
It is worth mentioning that OpenCRISPR-1 is open source and can be used not only for scientific research for free, but also for commercial use. This will help improve access to gene editing therapies, reduce the cost of gene editing therapies, and accelerate the development of treatments for thousands of genetic diseases that are currently incurable.
The gene editing industry is a fast-growing field that involves improving the properties of an organism by altering its genes. The development of gene editing technology has brought great changes and opportunities to the fields of medicine, agriculture and biological sciences. In the medical field, gene editing can be used to treat genetic diseases and improve human health; In agriculture, gene editing can be used to improve crop quality and disease resistance; In the field of biological sciences, gene editing can help scientists better understand the inner workings of living organisms.
Comparison of gene editing subdivision technologies
The most commonly used gene editing technologies are ZFN technology, TALEN technology and CRISPR/Cas9 technology, which are the first, second and third generation gene editing technologies. In terms of operation and application, the recognition accuracy, recognition efficiency, and shearing efficiency have gradually improved, the cost has gradually decreased, and the degree of commercialization has gradually improved.
A detailed explanation of mainstream gene editing technologies
CRISPR/Cas9 technology is the mainstream technology direction of gene editing, which realizes gene editing through the localization of CRISPR sequences and the cleavage of homologous DNA of Cas9 protein. By 2023, the technology will be widely used in medicine, plants, and industry. In medicine, it is of great significance for the correction of pathogenic mutations, cell repair, and protective mutations.
Analysis of key ethical controversies in the gene editing industry
The ethical and moral controversies caused by gene editing can be divided into two aspects: macro and micro. At the macro level, the focus is on the possible changes in human differentiation, the relationship between society and people, and the relationship between nature and people. At the micro level, the main focus is on concerns about the subject and the treated population, the risk of off-target effects in the gene editing process, and the unpredictable problems that have not yet appeared but may occur through genetics and reproduction in the future, and require sufficient samples and data support. However, the question of who bears these risks, and how to respond to them when they become widespread, and who is responsible for them, is difficult to answer.
The development trend of gene editing technology
The development trend of gene editing technology is to continuously reduce costs and shorten the development cycle of ZFNs and TALENs. Secondly, CRISPR gene editing is not limited by PAM and can be edited at any genome locus. Finally, to overcome the off-target rate.
Associate Professor Wong Siu-lun of the University of Hong Kong pointed out that CRISPR/Cas9 has become a mainstream gene editing technology since its inception in 2012. However, the underlying patented technology of the technology has been monopolized by Western countries. At present, some novel gene editing tools are also being developed in China, and China still has great opportunities in gene editing tool innovation. He emphasized that to truly apply cutting-edge technology to clinical treatment, it is necessary for all parties to cooperate for a win-win situation, rather than pursuing the fastest speed.
The gene editing industry is an emerging field in the field of biotechnology with huge development potential. With the continuous maturity and application of CRISPR technology, gene editing technology has broad application prospects in medicine, agriculture and industry.
Prospective Economist APP Information Group
For more research and analysis of this industry, please refer to the "Market Prospect and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report of China's Genetic Modification Industry" by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute
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