Project description
Novel gene-editing tool
Editing the genome is crucial for understanding genetic diseases, gene function and advancing medical treatments. CRISPR, a powerful genome-editing technology, allows for precise modifications to DNA by targeting specific genes. While CRISPR has enabled significant advancements in small-scale genetic changes, making large genomic alterations remains a challenge. Traditional gene transfer methods, such as viral vectors, have safety concerns and limited versatility. The ERC-funded SCRIBE project seeks to overcome these obstacles by developing new gene-writing strategies that use RNA to encode and transfer genetic information. By combining CRISPR’s precision with retrotransposon mechanisms, SCRIBE aims to create a unified tool for efficient and versatile gene writing.
Objective
CRISPR development has enormously accelerated genetic engineering principles, and precise methods to modify small alleles (such as base or prime editing) are now available. However, generating large genomic changes still presents enormous challenges. Large modifications, such as gene transfers, are performed generally with viral vectors, which have been associated with toxicities in the clinic, and often lack versatility needed for basic science experimentation. Newer CRISPR-based techniques for gene transfer suffer from significant efficacy and safety problems when used for large message writing.
The overall goal of SCRIBE is to create new strategies for gene writing and define their molecular principles. These new writers will use RNA to both encode and transfer the message. The SCRIBE strategies will take advantage of the retrotransposon capacity for writing genes from RNA, and the precision of CRISPR in addressing specific sites of the genome. Thus, the find function will be dominated by CRISPR components, and copy-paste activity will be executed by retroelement components. To develop and optimize such a technology, we will use evolutionary analysis to select those retroelements with the highest activity and orthogonality, and modulate their message writing capacity by engineering their components. We will test various CRISPR and retrotransposon combinations, and adapt both of them to converge into a unified molecular machine. We will use artificial intelligence applied to protein design and a novel concept of synthetically oriented evolution to accelerate emergence of the new function. Finally, we will deploy new gene writing principles for RNA-based in vivo gene delivery.
In sum, we will develop a new family of tools for engineering life. The real breakthrough will be the establishment of gene writing as a simple and general method for both research advancement and applied purposes.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG
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08002 Barcelona
Spain
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