New CRISPR screening is the first of its kind specific to human muscle cells

UGA researchers have created a first-of-its-kind CRISPR screening platform for human muscle cells, identifying hundreds of genes critical to skeletal muscle formation and uncovering the potential cause of a rare genetic disorder. The findings come from two companion papers published in Nature Communications, one describing the large-scale screen and a second digging into a particular gene’s role in muscle development.

“This is the first time people can have this power to study thousands of genes in muscles in a single experimental run,” said Pengpeng Bi, lead author of the studies and an associate professor in UGA’s department of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Previously, this could be done in mice or maybe in fish, but, even with genetic similarities, there are many distinguishing characteristics of human muscle cells.”

Read more about the studies.