What are the different types of gene editing?

The history of the genome goes as far back as 1950, around the time the DNA double helix was discovered. Scientists have tested and spent countless hours trying to figure out the best gene editing technique. They have concluded that there are 4 main gene editing techniques that are beneficial. The first one is restriction enzymes which can recognize nucleotide sequence patterns and cut at specific sites. This allows one to insert new DNA between those cut sites. The second is Zinc Finger Nucleases which has two parts of the gene editing process. One is the engineered nuclease and zinc finger DNA-binding domains. The binding domain can find a 3-base pair location on the DNA and can combine to it to recognize longer sequences. The third gene editing technique is TALENs gene editing. TALENs consist of transcription activators which are composed of amino acid repeats. This process also includes a Fokl nuclease that cuts DNA. In order for the TALENs to function, the target site is required to be 5’ thymine and 3’ adenine. The final gene editing technique is CRISPR- Cas9. This is called Clustered Regularly interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats which are found in prokaryotes, some bacteria and archaea. The gene editing is composed of a guided RNA and a Cas9 nuclease. The first region of CRISPR is the restriction endonucleases. They have the ability to distinguish viral DNA and break it apart within the bacteria. They tend to cut up the DNA into fragments before transcription. Next, the is CRISPR system which provides adaptive immunity. There’s also TracerRNA involved because it attaches Cas9 to CrRNA during the process. In the end, all these techniques really rely on cost and time. Choosing the right method is up to what one is willing to offer.