Genome Editing of Erythroid Cell Culture Model Systems

Genome editing to introduce specific mutations or to knock out genes in model cell systems has become an efficient platform for research in the fields of molecular biology, genetics, and cell biology. With recent rapid improvements in genome editing techniques, bench-top manipulation of the genome in cell culture has become progressively easier. The application of this knowledge to erythroid cell culture systems now allows the rapid analysis of the downstream effects of virtually any engineered gene disruption or modification in cell systems. Here, we describe a CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to making genomic modifications in erythroid lineage cells which we have successfully used in both murine (MEL) and human (K562) erythroleukaemia immortalized cell lines.