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Collateral damage: benchmarking off-target effects in genome editing

Dana Carroll1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. dana@biochem.utah.edu.

Genome Biology
|June 5, 2019
PubMed

Insights

This editorial explores acceptable off-target effects in genome editing across diverse applications. It addresses safety and efficacy thresholds for gene editing technologies.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics and Genomics
  • Biotechnology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas9, offer unprecedented precision in modifying DNA.
  • However, unintended alterations, known as off-target effects, remain a critical concern for therapeutic and research applications.

Discussion:

  • The tolerable levels of off-target mutations vary significantly depending on the intended use, ranging from research tools to clinical therapies.
  • Evaluating safety profiles requires robust detection methods and a clear understanding of the biological consequences of off-target edits.

Key Insights:

  • Defining acceptable risk for off-target effects is crucial for advancing genome editing applications.
  • Context-specific risk-benefit analyses are necessary to determine appropriate safety standards.

Outlook:

  • Future research should focus on minimizing off-target mutations and developing standardized assays for their detection.
  • Establishing clear regulatory guidelines for off-target effect tolerance will facilitate the clinical translation of genome editing.

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