Establishment of a core facility for genome editing at the Marine Biological Laboratory

模型生物对生物学研究很重要，因为它们能够通过精确、重复的实验操作进行精细的假设检验。从历史上看，海洋实验室在提供广泛的动物模型方面发挥了主导作用，这些模型被用来回答生物学和神经科学中的一些最基本的问题。例如，从水母中分离出的一种荧光蛋白彻底改变了我们成像哺乳动物神经系统的能力，而从鱿鱼中提取的神经细胞告诉我们大脑是如何产生电信号的。当生物研究拥抱多样性时，它就会受益。这是因为地球上存在的数千万种物种中的每一种都对特定的生物过程提供了不同的见解。海洋物种比陆地物种存在的时间要长得多，并且进化到了完全不同的环境中。因此，它们为科学提供了独特的机会。目前的主要遗传模型都不是海洋生物。这一倡议将在伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室(MBL http://www.mbl.edu))创建一个基因组编辑核心设施，该设施将催化生产和开发遗传上易于处理的海洋模型。这将为不同主题的基因研究开辟新的途径。将设施放在海洋生物实验室将使其效力和影响最大化。每年有1500多名科学家和学生访问海洋生物实验室进行研究或参加课程，他们都可以使用基因组编辑核心设施。该核心设施的目的是允许MBL的大型研究人员和学生社区将基因组编辑试剂运送到来自不同海洋生物的胚胎。该设施将包括三个微注射装置、制造注射吸管的设备和一个电穿孔器。钻井平台将是灵活的。它们是由具有多年注入海洋胚胎经验的专家胚胎学家设计的，将容纳不同大小和材料特性的标本。GEC将被安置在海洋资源中心，这是一个配备了最先进设备的设施，可以培养各种海洋生物，包括我们建议开发的遗传模型。由于该设施将向整个MBL社区开放，它将用于研究和教育。GEC将支持MBL的战略目标，即创造基因易驯化的海洋模式生物，以催化下一代海洋生物学的新研究。

Model organisms are important to biological research because they enable refined hypothesis testing through precise, repetitive experimental manipulations. Historically, marine labs have played a leading role in providing a broad range of animal models that have been used to answer some of the most fundamental questions in biology, and neuroscience. For example, a fluorescent protein isolated from jellyfish has revolutionized our ability to image the mammalian nervous system and a nerve cell from squid has taught us how electrical signals are created in the brain. Biological research benefits when it embraces diversity. This is because each of the tens of millions of species that exist on earth offers a different insight into a specific biological process. Marine species have existed for much longer than their terrestrial counterparts, and have evolved to occupy far different environments. Accordingly, they offer unique opportunities for science. None of the current major genetic models is a marine organism. This initiative will create a genome editing core facility (GEC) at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL http://www.mbl.edu) in Woods Hole which will catalyze the production and development of genetically tractable marine models. This will enable new avenues of genetic research on diverse topics.Having the facility at the Marine Biological Laboratory will maximize its effectiveness and impact. Every year over 1500 scientists and students visit the Marine Biological Laboratory to conduct research or attend courses, and all of them will have access to the genome editing core facility. The core facility's purpose is to allow the MBL's large community of researchers and students to deliver genome editing reagents to embryos from diverse marine organisms. The facility will consist of three microinjection rigs, apparatus to fabricate injection pipettes, and an electroporator. The rigs will be flexible. They were designed by expert embryologists with years of experience injecting marine embryos and will accommodate specimens that differ in size and material properties. GEC will be housed in the Marine Resource Center, a facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to culture a wide variety of marine organisms, including the genetic models that we propose to develop. Because the facility will be open to the entire MBL community, it will be used for both research and education. GEC will support the MBL's strategic aim of creating genetically tractable marine model organisms to catalyze the next generation of novel research in marine biology.