The Expanding Dissemination and Distribution Patterns of Diverse CRISPR Plasmids by Addgene

CRISPR-based technologies have rapidly enabled the democratization of genome editing in academic institutions through distribution by Addgene over the past decade. Recently, several distribution milestones have been reached, with a collection of >15,000 plasmids deposited by >1,000 laboratories spanning ∼40 countries now shipped 300,000 times to ∼5,000 organizations traversing ∼100 countries. Yet, both deposits of and requests for CRISPR plasmids continue to rise for this disruptive technology. Distribution patterns revealed robust demand for three distinct classes of CRISPR effectors, namely nucleases (e.g., Cas9 and Cas12), modulators (deactivated CRISPR nucleases fused to transcriptional regulators and epigenome modifiers), and chimeric effectors (Cas proteins fused to enzymes carrying out other activities such as deamination, reverse transcription, transposition, and integration). Yearly deposits over the past decade are requested in near-even proportions, reflecting continuous technological development and requests for novel constructs. Though it is unclear whether the slowing rate of requests is inherent to a pandemic operational lag or a transition from emerging to mature technology, it is noteworthy that the relative proportion of requests from plasmids deposited in the previous year remains stable, suggesting robust development of novel tools concurrent with continued adoption of editing, base editing, prime editing, and more. Predictably, most requested plasmids are designed for mammalian genome manipulation, presumably for medical research and human health pursuits, reflecting investments in therapeutic applications. Concurrently, requests for plant and microbial constructs are on the rise, especially in regions of the world more reliant on local agricultural inputs and focused on food and feed applications, illustrating continued diversification of genome editing applications.