CRISPR off-target detection with DISCOVER-seq

Nat Protoc. 2020 May;15(5):1775-1799. doi: 10.1038/s41596-020-0309-5. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Abstract

DISCOVER-seq (discovery of in situ Cas off-targets and verification by sequencing) is a broadly applicable approach for unbiased CRISPR-Cas off-target identification in cells and tissues. It leverages the recruitment of DNA repair factors to double-strand breaks (DSBs) after genome editing with CRISPR nucleases. Here, we describe a detailed experimental protocol and analysis pipeline with which to perform DISCOVER-seq. The principle of this method is to track the precise recruitment of MRE11 to DSBs by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing. A customized open-source bioinformatics pipeline, BLENDER (blunt end finder), then identifies off-target sequences genome wide. DISCOVER-seq is capable of finding and measuring off-targets in primary cells and in situ. The two main advantages of DISCOVER-seq are (i) low false-positive rates because DNA repair enzyme binding is required for genome edits to occur and (ii) its applicability to a wide variety of systems, including patient-derived cells and animal models. The whole protocol, including the analysis, can be completed within 2 weeks.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems*
  • Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
  • DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded
  • DNA Repair
  • Gene Editing / methods*
  • Humans
  • K562 Cells
  • Mice
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA