Mapping the coevolution, leadership and financing of research on viral vectors, RNAi, CRISPR/Cas9 and other genomic editing technologies

High-throughput cell optoporation system based on Au nanoparticle layers mediated by resonant irradiation for precise and controllable gene delivery

The development of approaches based on genetically modified cells is accompanied by a constant intensive search for new effective and safe delivery systems and the study of existing ones. Recently, we developed a new plasmonic nanoparticle layers-mediated optoporation system that can be proposed for precisely controlled, high-performance laser transfection compatible with broad types of cells and delivered objects of interest. The main goal of the present study is to demonstrate the broad possibilities and advantages of our system for optoporation of several mammalian cells, classified as "easy-to-transfect" cells, namely HeLa and CHO lines, and "hard-to-transfect" cells, namely A431 and RAW 264.7 cells. We show the efficient delivery of various sized cargo molecules: from small molecular dyes propidium iodide (PI) with molecular mass 700 Da, control plasmids (3-10 kb) to fluorophore-labeled dextranes with masses ranging from 10 kDa up to 100 kDa. The performance of optoporation was investigated for two types of laser sources, 800-nm continuous-wave laser, and 1064-nm ns pulsed laser. We provided a comparative study between our system and commercial agent Lipofectamine for transient transfection and stable transfection of HeLa cells with plasmids encoding fluorescent proteins. The quantitative data analysis using flow cytometry, Alamar blue viability assay, and direct fluorescence microscopy revealed higher optoporation efficacy for hard-to-transfect A431 cells and Raw 264.7 cells than lipofection efficacy. Finally, we demonstrated the optoporation performance at the single-cell level by successful delivering PI to the individual CHO cells with revealed high viability for at least 72 h post-irradiation.

Funding CRISPR: Understanding the role of government and philanthropic institutions in supporting academic research within the CRISPR innovation system

CRISPR/Cas has the potential to revolutionize medicine, agriculture, and biology. Understanding the trajectory of CRISPR research, how it is influenced and who pays for it, is an essential research policy question. We use a combination of methods to map, via quantitative content analysis of CRISPR papers, the research funding profile of major government agencies and organizations philanthropic, and the networks involved in supporting key stages of high-influence research, namely basic biological research and technological development. The results of the content analysis show how the research supported by the main US government agencies focus both on the study of CRISPR as a biological phenomenon and on its technological development and use as a biomedical research tool. US philanthropic organizations with the exception of HHMI, tend, by contrast, to specialize in funding CRISPR as a genome editing technology. We present a model of co-funding networks at the two most prominent institutions for CRISPR/Cas research, the University of California and the Harvard/MIT/Broad Institute, to illuminate how philanthropic organizations have articulated with government agencies to co-finance the discovery and development of CRISPR/Cas. Our results raise fundamental questions about the role of the state and the influence of philanthropy over the trajectory of transformative technologies.

Peer Review

https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00187

A Review on Transcriptional Responses of Interactions between Insect Vectors and Plant Viruses

This review provides a synopsis of transcriptional responses pertaining to interactions between plant viruses and the insect vectors that transmit them in diverse modes. In the process, it attempts to catalog differential gene expression pertinent to virus–vector interactions in vectors such as virus reception, virus cell entry, virus tissue tropism, virus multiplication, and vector immune responses. Whiteflies, leafhoppers, planthoppers, and thrips are the main insect groups reviewed, along with aphids and leaf beetles. Much of the focus on gene expression pertinent to vector–virus interactions has centered around whole-body RNA extraction, whereas data on virus-induced tissue-specific gene expression in vectors is limited. This review compares transcriptional responses in different insect groups following the acquisition of non-persistent, semi-persistent, and persistent (non-propagative and propagative) plant viruses and identifies parallels and divergences in gene expression patterns. Understanding virus-induced changes in vectors at a transcriptional level can aid in the identification of candidate genes for targeting with RNAi and/or CRISPR editing in insect vectors for management approaches.