How Gene Editing Started And Came To Be What It Is Today

Gene editing is the process of altering the DNA of organisms by adding or removing the genome nucleotides. Gene editing has been vital in chromosomal rearrangement, gene mutations and also creating transgenic animals. Gene editing has been there in the past 40 years. Development has grown from simple genome editing to a state where a whole species can be eradicated or modified. Gene editing history comes out differently with various sources. In this brief explanation, I am going to be giving a timeline on how gene editing started and came to be what it is today.

In 1973 Stanley Cohen and Herb Boyer made the first genetically modified organism. This was a bacteria with an extra gene to improve its antibiotic resistance in Cohen’s Stanford University lab. The next year that is, 1974 The National Academy of Sciences made a suspension on genetic engineering experiments till further safety issues could be inspected. In 1975 more than one hundred scientists met at California’s Asilomar conference center to make a risk assessment and mitigation principles in biotechnology which are in use up to today. One of the main principles among them was transparency and public engagement.

After 7 years, 1982 synthetic insulin (the first genetically modified human drug) was made from a bacteria having the human insulin gene. This drug was approved by Drug and Food Administration. In 1994, the Flavor tomato (the first genetically engineered food by Celgene) that was engineered to stay firm when the tomato ripens. In 1996 Monsanto makes the first genetically modified crops. After a few years, the crops (ready corns, canola, cotton, soybeans and sugar beets) dominates the market. After that, we have roundup-resistant weeds growing in those fields where the crops were grown.

In 2003, a biocontrol gene is proposed. Geneticist Austin suggests that selfish that guarantees most offspring inheritance can be applied as a biocontrol over another species. Currently, there is no technology that is able to explain the design of such a gene. This is when Burt raised a discussion to get a procedure for deciding whether such to do away with the species or entirely genetically modify it. In 2012, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) a bacterial immune system idea comes from the researchers in California-Berkeley university and the Broad Institute, that CRISPR could be used as a gene to edit an organism’s genome. In 2014, a paper is published by Kevin Esvelt, showing how CRISPR can be applied to insert genetic information in an entire population or species and completely alter or eradicate them. In the document, he says that the method can be used to control invasive species and disease elimination like Lyme disease and malaria.

In 2015 University of California scientists create the first gene drive in fruit flies and the scientists from Imperial College in London builds the first gene drive in lab mosquitos.

In 2016 the National Academics of Science in Engineering, Science and Medicine recommend more research, highly controlled field trials and public engagement after the gene drives huge potential in disease control, agriculture and conservation before the organisms could be released into the environment. Over 200 groups call up for a suspension on gene drive research, but the suspension gets closed down at the United Nations. In 2017, Australia and Texas announce gene drive house mice. The same year, FDA approves the first gene altering treatments for cancer. Another amazing issue arose when Kevin Esvelt issues a public statement withdrawing the statement that he recommended gene drive use for conservation. He adds on to say that he was very erroneous to even propose it.