This online seminar, part of the GenomeWeb/ABRF 2016 Webinar Series, covered the history of gene editing methods like TALENs and CRISPR/Cas and provided an overview of various gene editing technologies.

The emergence of these new technologies in the last decade "has triggered a veritable revolution as laboratories worldwide have begun to introduce or correct mutations in cells and organisms with the level of ease and efficiency not previously possible,” the Journal of the American Medical Association noted in 2015.

During the webinar, Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., of Christiana Care Health System’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute and Channabasavaiah Gurumurthy of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discussed some of the origins of gene editing and how the field emerged from a series of basic science observations to the dynamic fast-paced field dominating research journals today.

Kmiec and Gurumurthy also discussed some of the factors that can influence the frequency and efficacy with which gene editing takes place, including cell cycle progression, and the introduction of specific double-strand breaks at specified sites relative to the target.

The second part of the webinar focused on the latest developments in genome editing technologies: specifically, different genome editing technologies will be compared with a special emphasis on the CRISPR/Cas system.