NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Copenhagen Center for Glycomics and Desktop Genetics are collaborating to test and improve a tool for analyzing mutations generated by CRISPR nucleases.
The method, called Indel Detection by Amplicon Analysis (IDAA), was developed in the laboratory of Eric Paul Bennett and is currently used by CCG and its spinout company GlycoDisplay. It facilitates the initial screening of newly generated nuclease reagents and the generation of edited cell pools or clonal cell lines, reducing the number of clones needed to create a stable cell line and increasing the ease with which they are screened.
To explore the capabilities of IDAA, Desktop Genetics and CCG plan to analyze a dataset of 800 Cas9 guides that were designed using the company's Deskgen Cloud platform. Desktop Genetics will analyze CRISPR indel formation using its machine learning expertise.
The project is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the indel detection method, and the partners anticipate that improvements to the tool will drive its broader use in academia and industry.
"This co-investigation will enable researchers to extract much more information from the IDAA assay by combining Eric's and our teams' expertise to deeply analyze these interesting datasets," said Leigh Brody, director of genomic services at Desktop Genetics, in a statement. "This will provide a better understanding of CRISPR activity and, in turn, serve our broader goal of offering a comprehensive solution for genome editing analysis."