For his part, Eric Lander from the Broad Institute said in a December 1 presentation at the summit that the need to employ
germ line editing would remain very, very rare thanks to other already available reproductive technologies like in - vitro fertilization that could help most people.
Not exact matches
«I'm not categorically against all human
germ -
line editing,» Doudna says, «but I think there would need to be a reason to do it that would justify the risks and costs.»
Gene
editing could include altering genes in one person — say to treat leukemia in one patient or make a cosmetic change — but, more controversially, it could also include making changes to the
germ line that would then alter the genome for an individual's children, grandchildren and the following generations, with potentially unknown repercussions.
These techniques will also allow scientists to use the CRISPR - Cas9 gene
editing system to track changes in
germ line.
«There's an important and clear ethical boundary between genome
editing in somatic cells versus in the
germ line.»
These include in vitro
editing of primordial
germ cells that are subsequently transmitted through
germ -
line chimeras to produce genome
edited offspring, and direct injections to developing embryos, creating
germ -
line chimeras in ovo (in the egg), which can then be bred to produce genome
edited offspring.
This must be accomplished by using a process known as
germ -
line transmission, where the primordial
germ cells (PGCs) of an early embryo are
edited, grown in cultures, and then reproductively transmitted through surrogate host parents to generate live, engineered birds.
By growing primordial
germ cells in culture researchers can make genome
edits sequentially without being restricted by the breeding cycle of living birds, and the cultured cells will contribute to the
germ line when injected into new embryos.
This could potentially improve the efficiency of successful and ubiquitous
editing of the embryo's cells, increasing the
germ -
line transmission rates of this method of avian genetic engineering.
Injecting the dorsal aorta allows the allele to be picked up by primordial
germ cells circulating in the blood before migrating to the gonads, thereby incorporating genome
edits into the
germ -
line.
In a series of stop - and - go legislation over the past few years, North America finally lifted a ban on
germ -
line editing — a fancy term for
editing inheritable genes, permanently altering the passage of DNA from generation to generation.
Others maintain that we're decades away from this and that clinical applications will depend heavily on the evolving legislation around
germ -
line editing.