The Human Genome Project was an incredible initiative that worked towards sequencing each component of human DNA. The project drew together renowned researchers, including MIT, and was finally completed in 2003.
A research group has created the first comprehensive functional map of genes expressed in human cells, going beyond the sequence. It results from years of collaboration on the Perturb-seq single-cell sequencing approach. The study could help propel the CRISPR Technology Market forward as the team connected each gene with its function in the cell.
Genes are a big resource similar to the human genome. This is because it allows one to undertake discovery-based research.
The team added that their database is of great use. This is because rather than deciding ahead of time what biology to look at, researchers will have this map of genotype-phenotype connections. They can go into the database and screen it without running any studies.
The screen allowed the researchers to investigate a wide range of biological issues. They used it to look for genes that induce chromosomal loss or gain. Further, they also looked into the cellular impacts of genes with unclear roles and researched mitochondrial stress responses.
In the past, studying this trait has been difficult. But now, they have a readily available platform to draw on. Thus, this dataset is going to enable all kinds of analyses that haven't been thought of by people who come from different aspects of biology.
The Perturb-seq technique is used in this investigation, allowing researchers to follow the impact of turning genes on or off in unprecedented detail. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing is used in the Perturb-seq approach to introduce genetic alterations into cells. The information about the RNAs that are expressed as a result of a genetic alteration is then captured via single-cell RNA sequencing. This technique can assist decode the various cellular impacts of genetic alterations because RNAs affect all elements of how cells behave.
The researchers intend to apply Perturb-seq to additional types of cells in the future and the cancer cell line they started with. They also intend to expand on their gene function map and encourage others to do the same. This is the culmination of many years of work by the authors and other collaborators, and it continues to succeed and expand.