Use of CRISPR/Cas9 for the Modification of the Mouse Genome

The use of CRISPR/Cas9 to modify the mouse genome has gained immense interest in the past few years since it allows the direct modification of embryos, bypassing the need of labor-intensive procedures for the manipulation of embryonic stem cells. By shortening the overall timelines and reducing the costs for the generation of new genetically modified mouse lines (Li et al., Nat Biotechnol 31: 681-683, 2013), this technology has rapidly become a major tool for in vivo drug discovery applications.