CRISPR/Cas Gene Editing of a Large DNA Virus: African Swine Fever Virus

Gene editing of large DNA viruses, such as African swine fever virus (ASFV), has traditionally relied on homologous recombination of a donor plasmid consisting of a reporter cassette with surrounding homologous viral DNA. However, this homologous recombination resulting in the desired modified virus is a rare event. We recently reported the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to edit ASFV. The use of CRISPR/Cas9 to modify the African swine fever virus genome resulted in a fast and relatively easy way to introduce genetic changes. To accomplish this goal we first infect primary swine macrophages with a field isolate, ASFV-G, and transfect with the CRISPR/Cas9 donor plasmid along with a plasmid that will express a specific gRNA that targets our gene to be deleted. By inserting a reporter cassette, we are then able to purify our recombinant virus from the parental by limiting dilution and plaque purification. We previously reported comparing the traditional homologous recombination methodology with CRISPR/Cas9, which resulted in over a 4 log increase in recombination.