As a high school or undergraduate Biological Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to teach about CRISPR: Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, a new gene editing technology that could enable certain species to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
This lesson plan includes resources that teach about gene editing using the CRISPR-Cas 9 pathway in bacteria. This pathway is a part of the adaptive immunity against phage infection in bacteria. It can be engineered to be used as a gene editing tool in living organisms. This lesson plan includes case studies that show how CRISPR gene editing technology can be used as a climate adaptation strategy.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Biological Sciences .
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
Teacher-contributed lesson plan by Dr Sneha Bhogale, IISER, Pune, India
Want to know more about how to contribute? Contact us.| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Biological Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Genetics, Botany, Adaptation, Gene Editing, CRISPR, CRISPR-Cas9 Pathway, DNA Repair Mechanisms, Double Stranded Breaks (DSBs), NonHomologous End Joining (NHEJ), Homologous Recombination (HR), Targeted Mutations, Nucleases |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Biosphere, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation |
| Location | Global |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online |
| Approximate Time Required | 45-60 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video (~4 min)
Begin with introducing what gene editing is and explain how it is different from genetic engineering- Gene editing, is a process in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified or replaced at a specific site in the genome of a living organism. Genetic engineering, on the other hand randomly inserts or deletes genetic material to introduce mutations. In gene editing, nucleases/ molecular scissors are used which introduce a double stranded break (DSB) in the DNA at specific locations after which DNA repair mechanisms of the cell take over resulting in targeted mutations 2 Step-by-step User Guide (edits). Then, briefly discuss the commonly used nucleases- meganucleases, Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effectorbased nucleases (TALENS) and CRISPR- that are used for gene editing. Emphasize that this lesson plan will focus on the CRISPR-Cas9 system of gene editing, as it is reported in recent times to be more efficient and effective than the others.
Use this animated video, ‘Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9’, narrated by Feng Zhang, McGovern Institute of Brain Research, MIT, to introduce the topic of gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 system and to briefly describe the structural components of the CRISPR-Cas9 pathway.
Visualization (35-40 min)
Use the interactive visualization, ‘CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanism & Application’ by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive, to enable your students to visualize how the CRISPR-Cas9 technology works at the molecular level and to explore its different components. Start by launching the ‘interactive’ component of the visualization tool. Navigate through the visualization to sequentially describe the gene-editing events of targeting and binding of the CRISPR-Cas9 complex to the target DNA, cleaving or breaking of the DNA at the target location and repairing of the DNA to introduce the desired mutation. Use the ‘explore’ button at every step to describe the different molecular components involved in the pathway.
Use the tab, ‘How it’s used’ to view 20 short videos that explain how CRISPR gene editing technology can be used to achieve different results in its applications in science and industry.
Video and Reading (~3 min + 5 min)
Use the video, ‘Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier’ by Zachary Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), to describe his use of CRISPR gene editing in two varieties of tomato plants to make them flower and ripen earlier than usual. Use the video to explain how this approach is useful to obtain faster and higher yields of the tomato crop. Discuss, using the video how this will also enable plants to be grown in higher latitudes, thereby offsetting crop loss, if any, due to global warming. To enable better understanding of Dr Lippman’s work, direct your students to listen to a CSHL Base Pairs podcast, link to which is available in the additional resources section of this lesson plan.
Use the reading, ‘CRISPR used to genetically edit coral’ by Hanae Armitage, Office of Communication, Stanford Medicine, to explain the proof-ofprinciple study published in PNAS by Phillip Cleves et al. (2018). Use this brief communication to explain how this work could allow researchers to use the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool to identify and knock-out the coral genes responsible for coral bleaching due to ocean acidification. Discuss how this technique can thus be useful for coral conservation by building climate-resilient corals.
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Video micro-lecture; ‘What is CRISPR?’ | A video micro-lecture by Paul Andersen, Bozeman Science, that ‘explains how the CRISPR/Cas immune system was identified in bacteria and how the CRISPR/Cas9 system was developed to edit genomes’.
This can be accessed here . |
| 2 | Video; ‘Biologist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty- CRISPR’ | A video interview of several people by Biologist Neville Sanjana, New York University & The New York Genome Center on WIRED, to explain the significance of CRISPR technology as a gene editing tool in biomedical science.
This can be accessed here. |
| 3 | Reading and Embedded Podcast; ‘CRISPR vs. climate change’ | A news story by Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), that talks about the application of CRISPR in agriculture. The embedded CSHL Base Pairs podcast,’10-CRISPR vs Climate Change’ is an interview with previously referenced (Tool # 3) Professor Lippman ‘about the threats climate change poses to agriculture and how CRISPR could help overcome them’.
This can be accessed here. |
| 4 | Reading; ‘Why Gene Editing Is the Next Food Revolution’ | A news story by Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), that talks about the application of CRISPR in agriculture. The embedded CSHL Base Pairs podcast,’10-CRISPR vs Climate Change’ is an interview with previously referenced (Tool # 3) Professor Lippman ‘about the threats climate change poses to agriculture and how CRISPR could help overcome them’.
This can be accessed here. |
| 5 | Reading; ‘10 ways CRISPR will revolutionize environmental science’ | An article by Jenna Gallegos, Alliance for Science, Cornell University, that describes ways in which CRISPR could be used to mitigate and adapt to an thropogenically induced environmental changes.
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Video; ‘Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9’ | Narrated by Feng Zhang, McGovern Institute of Brain Research, MIT. |
| 2 | Visualization; ‘CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanism & Application’ | By Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive. |
| 3 | Video; ‘Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier’ | By Zachary Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). |
| 4 | Reading; ‘CRISPR used to genetically edit coral’ | By Hanae Armitage, Office of Communications, Stanford Medicine. |
| 5 | Additional Resources | Paul Andersen, Bozeman Science Neville Sanjana, New York University and The New York Genome Center for WIRED Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Eric Niiler, National Geographic Jenna Gallegos, Alliance for Science, Cornell University |
| Grade Level | High School, Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Biological Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Gene Editing, CRISPR, CRISPR-Cas9 Pathway, DNA Repair Mechanisms, Double Stranded Breaks (DSBs), NonHomologous End Joining (NHEJ), Homologous Recombination (HR), Targeted Mutations, Nucleases |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Biosphere, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation |
| Location | Global |
| Language(s) | English |
| Access | Online |
| Approximate Time Required | 45-60 min |
| Share | |
| Download The Resource |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video (~4 min)
Begin with introducing what gene editing is and explain how it is different from genetic engineering- Gene editing, is a process in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified or replaced at a specific site in the genome of a living organism. Genetic engineering, on the other hand randomly inserts or deletes genetic material to introduce mutations. In gene editing, nucleases/ molecular scissors are used which introduce a double stranded break (DSB) in the DNA at specific locations after which DNA repair mechanisms of the cell take over resulting in targeted mutations 2 Step-by-step User Guide (edits). Then, briefly discuss the commonly used nucleases- meganucleases, Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effectorbased nucleases (TALENS) and CRISPR- that are used for gene editing. Emphasize that this lesson plan will focus on the CRISPR-Cas9 system of gene editing, as it is reported in recent times to be more efficient and effective than the others.
Use this animated video, ‘Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9’, narrated by Feng Zhang, McGovern Institute of Brain Research, MIT, to introduce the topic of gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 system and to briefly describe the structural components of the CRISPR-Cas9 pathway.
Visualization (35-40 min)
Use the interactive visualization, ‘CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanism & Application’ by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive, to enable your students to visualize how the CRISPR-Cas9 technology works at the molecular level and to explore its different components. Start by launching the ‘interactive’ component of the visualization tool. Navigate through the visualization to sequentially describe the gene-editing events of targeting and binding of the CRISPR-Cas9 complex to the target DNA, cleaving or breaking of the DNA at the target location and repairing of the DNA to introduce the desired mutation. Use the ‘explore’ button at every step to describe the different molecular components involved in the pathway.
Use the tab, ‘How it’s used’ to view 20 short videos that explain how CRISPR gene editing technology can be used to achieve different results in its applications in science and industry.
Video and Reading (~3 min + 5 min)
Use the video, ‘Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier’ by Zachary Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), to describe his use of CRISPR gene editing in two varieties of tomato plants to make them flower and ripen earlier than usual. Use the video to explain how this approach is useful to obtain faster and higher yields of the tomato crop. Discuss, using the video how this will also enable plants to be grown in higher latitudes, thereby offsetting crop loss, if any, due to global warming. To enable better understanding of Dr Lippman’s work, direct your students to listen to a CSHL Base Pairs podcast, link to which is available in the additional resources section of this lesson plan.
Use the reading, ‘CRISPR used to genetically edit coral’ by Hanae Armitage, Office of Communication, Stanford Medicine, to explain the proof-ofprinciple study published in PNAS by Phillip Cleves et al. (2018). Use this brief communication to explain how this work could allow researchers to use the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool to identify and knock-out the coral genes responsible for coral bleaching due to ocean acidification. Discuss how this technique can thus be useful for coral conservation by building climate-resilient corals.
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Video micro-lecture; ‘What is CRISPR?’ | A video micro-lecture by Paul Andersen, Bozeman Science, that ‘explains how the CRISPR/Cas immune system was identified in bacteria and how the CRISPR/Cas9 system was developed to edit genomes’.
This can be accessed here . |
| 2 | Video; ‘Biologist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty- CRISPR’ | A video interview of several people by Biologist Neville Sanjana, New York University & The New York Genome Center on WIRED, to explain the significance of CRISPR technology as a gene editing tool in biomedical science.
This can be accessed here. |
| 3 | Reading and Embedded Podcast; ‘CRISPR vs. climate change’ | A news story by Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), that talks about the application of CRISPR in agriculture. The embedded CSHL Base Pairs podcast,’10-CRISPR vs Climate Change’ is an interview with previously referenced (Tool # 3) Professor Lippman ‘about the threats climate change poses to agriculture and how CRISPR could help overcome them’.
This can be accessed here. |
| 4 | Reading; ‘Why Gene Editing Is the Next Food Revolution’ | A news story by Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), that talks about the application of CRISPR in agriculture. The embedded CSHL Base Pairs podcast,’10-CRISPR vs Climate Change’ is an interview with previously referenced (Tool # 3) Professor Lippman ‘about the threats climate change poses to agriculture and how CRISPR could help overcome them’.
This can be accessed here. |
| 5 | Reading; ‘10 ways CRISPR will revolutionize environmental science’ | An article by Jenna Gallegos, Alliance for Science, Cornell University, that describes ways in which CRISPR could be used to mitigate and adapt to an thropogenically induced environmental changes.
This can be accessed here. |
| 1 | Video; ‘Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9’ | Narrated by Feng Zhang, McGovern Institute of Brain Research, MIT. |
| 2 | Visualization; ‘CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanism & Application’ | By Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive. |
| 3 | Video; ‘Gene editing yields tomatoes that flower and ripen weeks earlier’ | By Zachary Lippman, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). |
| 4 | Reading; ‘CRISPR used to genetically edit coral’ | By Hanae Armitage, Office of Communications, Stanford Medicine. |
| 5 | Additional Resources | Paul Andersen, Bozeman Science Neville Sanjana, New York University and The New York Genome Center for WIRED Andrea Alfano, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Eric Niiler, National Geographic Jenna Gallegos, Alliance for Science, Cornell University |
