wereqryan
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Scientists Create the World's First Gene-Edited Albino Lizards Using CRISPR
The study of the genes of brown anole lizards could have implications for human genetics.
For the first time in human history, a team of researchers from the University of Georgia has genetically modified reptiles using the CRISPR Cas-9 gene-editing tool - specifically to create four albino lizards.
Furthermore, by conducting the study on lizards, and specifically in this instance, Anolis sagrei, or brown anoles, could lead to implications for human genetics.
Eye development, in particular, would benefit from this research, as the tyrosinase gene, the one edited in this study is also the one that gives us pigmentation in our skin. The enzyme is needed to control melanin and is required for eye development in both humans and anoles. However, it is "absent in the eyes of mice and other organisms commonly used for biomedical research," notes the University of Georgia press release.