Genotoxic Effects of Base and Prime Editing
By Kamal Nahas,
The Scientist
| 01. 12. 2024
New gene editing tools could become gamechangers for gene therapy, but scientists need to develop new approaches that curtail undesirable mutations. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 system is one such error-prone editing tool that scientists later modified to limit its mutational burden.1 However, it’s unclear how the adapted techniques, called base and prime editing, stack up against the original CRISPR-Cas9 system.2 Reporting in the journal Nature Biotechnology, researchers at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute revealed that base and prime editing produced more mutations than previously suggested but produced them less often than CRISPR-Cas9.3
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing relies on a guide RNA that binds to a desired DNA sequence and a Cas9 enzyme that cuts both strands of DNA at that site, creating a double-strand break. Scientists edit the sequences at the cut ends before using different approaches to guide repair. However, there are often additional DNA sequences with blunt ends in the nucleus that could accidentally get jumbled with the cut ends during repair, leading to mutations. Therefore, researchers adapted CRISPR-Cas9 techniques...
Related Articles
GeneWatch UK has prepared a briefing on the genetic modification of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025
The upcoming Congress claims to be “where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action.” A major concern for those on the outside is that the Congress may advance plans to develop and encourage the use of synthetic biology in nature conservation. This could at first glance sound like...
By Aaron Ginn, The Washington Post | 09.12.2025
Earlier this year, I had dinner in D.C. with Jensen Huang, the president and chief executive of Nvidia. At one point, he said something that struck me: “Why is everyone here so negative?”
He wasn’t referring to the economy...
By Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times | 08.25.2025
Scientists have dreamed for centuries about using animal organs to treat ailing humans. In recent years, those efforts have begun to bear fruit: Researchers have begun transplanting the hearts and kidneys of genetically modified pigs into patients, with varying degrees...
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...