Heritable genome editing in C. elegans via a CRISPR-Cas9 system

Abstract

RNA polymerase III–driven single guide RNA and a germ line promoter–driven expression of Cas9 enzyme allow heritable, targeted genome modifications in Caenorhabditis elegans. We report the use of clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated endonuclease Cas9 to target genomic sequences in the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line using single-guide RNAs that are expressed from a U6 small nuclear RNA promoter. Our results demonstrate that targeted, heritable genetic alterations can be achieved in C. elegans, providing a convenient and effective approach for generating loss-of-function mutants.