WASHINGTON, USA -- Human gene modification has always been the dream of many geneticists. Their constant research and experiments ultimate goal is to diagnose, treat, and prevent many illnesses.
A team from the University of Georgia recently wrote about the success of the gene-editing procedure they conducted on a reptile for the first time. They've created a pair of albino lizards about the size of the human point finger.
The paper where they described the breakthrough method they used was published in the journal Cell Press on Tuesday. Researchers say that such gene editing would help humans better understand what is happening to the vision problems of those diagnosed with albinism.
CRISPR is the gene-editing technology that has allowed for this to happen. Its functions might have brought about success on tests conducted on plants, mice and humans, but it remained impossible for reptiles as they different in reproductive functions.
"For quite some time now, our team has been working on the evaluation of how the reptile gene can be modified, to be able to manipulate it and use it to our advantage. However, we have had no luck because we tried gene editing on major of its organ system," said Doug Menke, co-author of the paper published in Cell Press.
In contrast to the usual practice, gene editing has been extensively researched and tested on the major organ systems of chicken, mice, and certain species of dogs and fishes. The CRISPR method is usually applied to single-cell zygotes and freshly fertilized eggs. However, the technique has become difficult to apply to animals that lay eggs.
"If it were done after fertilization, millions of cells would have already developed. The effort to penetrate the leathery covering of the shell at that point might only cause the death of the embryo, killing the point altogether," Menke said.
An alternative process was to inject the CRISPR reagents before fertilization, but it might be too early by then, which means it would be put to waste. Menke and the rest of the team have worked with the transparent membrane that covered the ovary where they saw which of the eggs would be meant to be fertilized next. They decided to inject the CRISPR reagents into them just before the fertilization occurred.
But why did they choose to make lizards albino? "Because we had to prove that our technique was successful. Nobody has seen an albino lizard before, so when they do, we know that it worked," Menke said.
"Every species has something new to tell us, if we only take the time to develop with gene editing," he said.
