Optimisation of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 : single-guide RNA (sgRNA) delivery system in a goat model

Abstract

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system is an efficient method for the production of gene-edited animals. We have successfully generated gene-modified goats and sheep via zygote injection of Cas9 mRNA and single-guide RNA (sgRNA) mixtures. However, the delivery system for microinjection largely refers to methods established for mice; optimised injection conditions are urgently required for the generation of large animals. Here, we designed a study to optimise the Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA delivery system for goats. By comparing four computational tools for sgRNA design and validating the targeting efficiency in goat fibroblasts, we suggest a protocol for the selection of desirable sgRNAs with higher targeting efficiency and negligible off-target mutations. We further evaluated the editing efficiency in goat zygotes injected with Cas9:sgRNA (sg8) and found that injection with 50ngμL-1 Cas9 mRNA and 25ngμL-1 sgRNA yielded an increased editing efficiency. Our results provide a reference protocol for the optimisation of the injection conditions for the efficient editing of large animal genomes via the zygote injection approach.