
Recently, the CRISPR Screening Hub has been launched at UZH, offering cutting-edge technology for gene editing and genome-wide CRISPR screens. The facility provides researchers with comprehensive services, including access to powerful, state-of the art CRISPR libraries for gene ablation, activation, and silencing, high-throughput pooled and arrayed CRISPR screenings, data analysis, and expert consultation.
CRISPR/Cas9 technology, also known as gene scissors, is a molecular biology tool for precise DNA editing that enables targeted modifications, such as inactivation, activation, or alteration of individual genes. With this revolutionary technique, all genes within entire genomes, including the about 20’000 genes in humans, can be examined. CRISPR screens provide an unbiased method to explore gene functions, signaling pathways, and complex biological processes at large-scale, forming the basis for understanding diseases and biological phenomena. In neuroscience, CRISPR screens can help identifying genes essential for brain development, understanding neurologic and neurodegenerative disorders, exploring synaptic functions and gene roles in various neural cell types and in discovering new drug targets.However, conducting such screens necessitate specific expertise and specialized resources, including CRISPR libraries.
We offer access to state-of the art genome wide human plasmid and lentiviral libraries termed “T.spiezzo” (19’936 plasmids) and “T.gonfio” (22’442 plasmids) for gene ablation, gene activation and epigenetic silencing (Yin et al., BioXriv, 2023). These libraries allow the precise manipulation of each human gene, thus enabling the exploration of gene functions in the entire human genome. Packaged into lentiviral vectors, these plasmids can be applied to various human cell types, including immortalized transfectable cell lines, primary human cells, and human induced pluripotent stem cells.Our services include engineering of cell lines, arrayed and pooled whole-genome and sublibrary high-throughput screens, as well as customized screens. We also offer the latest equipment to perform CRISPR screenings as well as personalized consultation to help you to design and execute your experiments.
Contact us to learn more about how we can support you, either through our website http://www.crisprhub.uzh.ch or by emailing to simone.hornemann@usz.ch to discuss your projects.