Perturbomics: CRISPR-Cas screening-based functional genomics approach for drug target discovery

Despite more than two decades since the completion of the first draft of the Human Genome Project, a substantial proportion of human genes remain poorly characterized in terms of their functions. Functional genomics aims to elucidate the roles and interactions of genes and genetic elements, providing insights into their involvement in various biological processes. In this context, the perturbomics approach-a systematic analysis of phenotypic changes resulting from gene function modulation-offers valuable insights into the function of unannotated genes. With the advent of CRISPR-Cas-based genome and epigenome editing, CRISPR screens have become the method of choice for perturbomics studies, enabling the identification of target genes whose modulation may hold therapeutic potential for diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders and neurodegeneration. These findings contribute to the development of targeted drug therapies and the design of gene and cell therapies for regenerative medicine. Here we highlight recent technical advances in CRISPR-based perturbomics, focusing on more physiologically relevant, single-cell-level analyses and their successful applications in discovering novel therapeutic strategies.