Generation of site-specific mutations in the rat genome via CRISPR/Cas9.

The laboratory rat is a valuable model organism for basic biological studies and drug development. However, due to the lack of genetic tools for site-specific genetic modification in the rat genome, more and more researchers chose the mouse as their favored mammalian models due to the sophisticated embryonic stem cell-based gene-targeting techniques available. Recently, engineered nucleases, including zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and CRISPR/Cas9 systems, have been adapted to generate knockout rats efficiently. The purpose of this section is to provide detailed procedures for the generation of site-specific mutations in the rat genome through injection of Cas9/sgRNA into one-cell embryos.