# Enhancing CRISPR-Cas for disease modeling in Xenopus

> **NIH NIH R21** · MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY · 2020 · $207,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The recent development of the CRISPR-Cas system has transformed many non-genetic models of cellular
biology, yet the full application of its genome editing capabilities has been largely restricted to warm-blooded
species and to genes which are easily amenable to current methods of CRISPR-Cas mediated gene
disruption. Several species which live at lower temperatures, such as Xenopus and the marine models Loligo
and Limulus, are ideal systems to model human disease, yet current methods of precise genome editing in
these species are inadequate. Furthermore, due to their genomic architecture, many highly-conserved
disease-causing genes are refractory to current methods of genome editing. We propose to expand the
CRISPR-Cas mediated genome editing toolkit in the field of human disease modeling by driving innovation in
two areas: 1) the development of a low-temperature CRISPR-Cas system capable of effecting targeted gene
insertion in model species which thrive at lower temperatures, and 2) to develop a nascent system of targeted
gene disruption by the application of CRISPR-Cas libraries.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9900078
- **Project number:** 5R21OD023810-02
- **Recipient organization:** MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
- **Principal Investigator:** Marko E Horb
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $207,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9900078

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9900078, Enhancing CRISPR-Cas for disease modeling in Xenopus (5R21OD023810-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9900078. Licensed CC0.

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