3rd International Conference on CRISPR Technologies
Transcriptional recording by CRISPR spacer acquisition from RNA
RNA sequencing is unmatched in its potential to characterize cell types, cell states, and the influence of perturbations on phenotypes. The drop in DNA sequencing has fueled progress in this area making it possible to evaluate diverse biological phenomenon at scale. However, the ability to interrogate dynamic cellular phenotypes, rather than a single snapshot in time, have been hampered by a lack of non-destructive methodologies. Moreover, RNA sequencing experiments reflect the current state of a cell, providing no information on its history. One promising solution is to store biological information in DNA, which is an ideal medium for encoding, storing, and propagating information. However, the ability to transform transcriptional information into DNA in living cells over time has been impossible due to a lack of molecular tools that facilitate recording (capture/encoding/storage) of RNA into the DNA. In my talk I will describe the development of Record-seq, a method leveraging CRISPR spacer acquisition from RNA to continuously record and permanently store transcriptomes inside populations of living cells, enabling the reconstruction of cellular histories.