Chromothripsis as on-target consequence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing

Infographic of Chromothripsis as an on-target consequence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing

The on-target unintended consequences of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing are not fully understood. In their recent work published in Nature Genetics, the Pellman Lab found that genome editing can generate abnormal nuclear structures called micronuclei and chromosome bridges. In turn, these structures can cause unintended complex rearrangements, including chromothripsis, on the targeted chromosome arm. Genome editing technologies that do not cause DNA double-strand breaks, such as base editors, should minimize the formation of these abnormal nuclear structures and chromothipsis after genome editing.