A team of researchers has genetically altered a squid for the first time in history, an important step in the study of cephalopods.
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Researchers at the Marine Biology Laboratory used the CRISPR-Cas9 genome edit to remove a gene in squid embryos Doryteuthis pealeii, which removed pigment from eye and skin cells, according to Joshua Rosenthal, lead scientist and study author. .
© Karen Crawford
Inshore squid hatchlings (Doryteuthis pealeii). At the top is a control pup and at the bottom the CRISPR-Cas9 embryo was injected targeting a pigmentation gene prior to first cell division.
Rosenthal said one of the biggest challenges was to deliver the gene-editing system through the embryo’s tough outer layer, a procedure that involved cutting the egg with microscissors.
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Squids often have dark eyes and a series of reddish black and brown spots on their bodies, while genetically altered pups have light pink or red eyes and almost no dark spots.
The milestone, which was first reported Thursday in Current Biology, could pave the way for researchers to study the biology of cephalopods such as squid, octopus, and cuttlefish in the same way that they study more common laboratory animals, like study mice and fruit flies.
“This is only a first step in demonstrating that the capabilities are available,” Rosenthal said, noting that squids have more than 25,000 genes to which this technology could be applied. “This document is really opening up a new species for biological questioning.”
About three years ago, scientists at the Marine Biology Laboratory launched an initiative to develop a cephalopod that was “genetically manageable,” meaning that its genes could be manipulated, Rosenthal said. She said cephalopods offer “really cool genetic possibilities” in part because they have the largest brain of all invertebrates and the ability to camouflage and widely recode their own genetic information.
Rosenthal and his colleagues achieved their results by “deleting” a gene responsible for pigmentation. “Knocked out” genes allow researchers to assess what individual genes do, while “knockout” could add genes that make it easier to study neuronal activity or other processes.
The researchers hope to transfer the new elimination technology to a smaller cephalopod species because Doryteuthis pealeii is not a good candidate for laboratory breeding in part because of its size.
Research on Doryteuthis pealeii, which can be found in the waters near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, has led to great advances in neurobiology, earning Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley a Nobel Prize in 1963.
Rosenthal said he hopes to use this technology to advance his own research into how this squid and other cephalopods edit their own mRNA, which could have biomedical applications, such as pain management therapy.
“The squid holds a real secret in highly accurate and active RNA editing,” he said.
He said this technology could also allow researchers to study how cephalopods evolved such large brains and complex behaviors, which could have implications for artificial intelligence. Further study of animals could also have applications in evolution, medicine, robotics, and military technology.
“For me, this changes the game. I’ve been interested in trying to understand how these animals work from the molecular level,” Carrie Albertin, another member of the research team, told NPR. “But, you know, I didn’t think it was possible. And yet here we are.”
Follow N’dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scientists Genetically Alter Squid for the First Time in Innovative Advance
Video: Scientists Genetically Alter Squid for the First Time in Revolutionary Advance (USA TODAY)
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