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Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Research topic

Open research questions in CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

208 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 715 CRISPR and Genetic Engineering papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Further research is needed to understand the values that lead to views regarding HGGE, - Research on how values can be accurately collected is needed

    Dutch Christian Faith Leaders Deliberating Human Germline Gene Editing: A Qualitative Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Little research has been published on how values can be accurately collected. The importance of values is underlined, but there is a gap in understanding how to collect and analyze them.

    Dutch Christian Faith Leaders Deliberating Human Germline Gene Editing: A Qualitative Study · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies the need for efficient TCR knockout in primary mouse T cells for preclinical immunotherapy research. The existing methods have limitations in terms of efficiency and toxicity. The study aims to address this gap by optimizing CRISPR-Cas9 RNP-based genome editing for T cells.

    Optimizing CRISPR–Cas9-mediated TCR knockout in primary mouse CD8+, CD4+, and regulatory T cells · 2026 · DOI

  • investigation of the range of defence systems that respond to phage infection by synthesising cyclic nucleotides to activate effectors, - exploration of the potential for Panoptes to work as a guard system

    Cyclic tri-adenylate controls a CARF-TM effector in type II Panoptes anti-phage systems · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the type II Panoptes system and its mechanism of generating cyclic tri-adenylate. The need to investigate how the type II Panoptes system interacts with phages and provides defense against them. The gap in our understanding of the guard systems that constitute a fascinating component of the bacterial immune system.

    Cyclic tri-adenylate controls a CARF-TM effector in type II Panoptes anti-phage systems · 2026 · DOI

  • Observations stem from a single edited line, - Further evaluation of independent mutant lines or complementation assays is required, - Small sample size of 22 regenerated plants

    CRISPR/Cas9-mediated FeS-ELF3 inactivation overcomes heteromorphic self-incompatibility in common buckwheat · 2026 · DOI

  • Further evaluation of independent mutant lines, - Complementation assays to definitively distinguish FeS-ELF3-specific pleiotropic effects, - Investigation of the effects of FeS-ELF3 inactivation on seed yield and plant architecture

    CRISPR/Cas9-mediated FeS-ELF3 inactivation overcomes heteromorphic self-incompatibility in common buckwheat · 2026 · DOI

  • significant recalcitrance to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in watermelon, - limited CRISPR adoption in watermelon, - no specific numbers or percentages are given for many of the results

    Molecular Targets and Trait Innovation in CRISPR-Edited Vegetable Crops: An Up-to-Date Review (2020–2026) · 2026 · DOI

  • further research on CRISPR/Cas applications in vegetable crops, - exploration of salt tolerance mechanisms, - investigation of the potential of CRISPR/Cas13 system to confer resistance in RNA viruses

    Molecular Targets and Trait Innovation in CRISPR-Edited Vegetable Crops: An Up-to-Date Review (2020–2026) · 2026 · DOI

  • The risk of off-target effects and non-specific genomic degradation. The potential for immune clearance or inflammatory responses in hosts. The need for careful optimization of design parameters, including guide RNA specificity, nuclease selection, and multiplex targeting strategies.

    CRISPR-Cas systems as next-generation antimicrobials: a systemic review of mechanisms, delivery strategies, and translational challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • Methodological heterogeneity - Risks of off-target effects that may inadvertently damage beneficial commensal bacteria and disrupt microbiome homeostasis - Uncertainties remain regarding biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, and long-term persistence of CRISPR reagents in vivo

    CRISPR-Cas systems as next-generation antimicrobials: a systemic review of mechanisms, delivery strategies, and translational challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • Immunological challenges associated with allogeneic HSC transplantation. Limited availability of well-matched donors for HSC transplantation. Technical challenges in gene editing approaches like CRISPR/Cas9.

    Sickle cell disease: understanding pathophysiology, clinical features and advances in gene therapy approaches · 2025 · DOI

  • Limited understanding of effective gene therapy approaches for SCD. Need for alternative treatment options beyond allogeneic HSC transplantation. Gap in the development of gene editing approaches for SCD.

    Sickle cell disease: understanding pathophysiology, clinical features and advances in gene therapy approaches · 2025 · DOI

  • Development of next-generation cellular immunotherapies, - Mechanistic studies in syngeneic models

    Optimizing CRISPR–Cas9-mediated TCR knockout in primary mouse CD8+, CD4+, and regulatory T cells · 2026 · DOI

  • However, integration with microfluidics for PoC applications is still poorly understood, despite CRISPR-Cas being widely used.

    CRISPR-on-Chip for Point-of-Care Diagnostics · 2026 · DOI

  • This article argues that the robust ethical reflection developed by the bioethics community to address human heritable genome editing can be used as a resource to address understudied questions of moral responsibility for anthropogenic insults to the germline.

    Genome Engineering, Chemical Exposure, and the Germline: An Ethical Synthesis · 2025 · DOI

  • Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are a promising nonviral delivery system for gene-editing proteins, but optimal formulations remain underexplored.

    A multistep platform identifies spleen-tropic lipid nanoparticles for in vivo T cell–targeted delivery of gene-editing proteins · 2025 · DOI

  • In underrepresented populations, the mutational landscape and determinants of response to existing therapies are poorly characterized because of limited inclusion in clinical trials and studies.

    Kinome-Focused CRISPR-Cas9 Screens in African Ancestry Patient-Derived Breast Cancer Organoids Identify Essential Kinases and Synergy of EGFR and FGFR1 Inhibition · 2025 · DOI

  • Genome-editing technologies have enabled the clinical development of allogeneic cellular therapies, yet the optimal gene-editing modality for multiplex editing of therapeutic T cell product manufacturing remains elusive.

    Quadruple adenine base–edited allogeneic CAR T cells outperform CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease–engineered T cells · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the application of AI-based CRISPR modeling in plants is not yet fully explored.

    AI-driven advances in plant biotechnology: sharpening the edge of plant tissue culture and genome editing · 2025 · DOI

  • However, very little is known about the genetic machinery used by the fungus to infect and kill banana plants.

    Optimization of a CRISPR-Cas9 in vitro protocol for targeting the SIX9 gene of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense race 1 associated with banana Fusarium wilt · 2025 · DOI

  • However, reports vary widely describing Cas12 SNP sensitivity, and an underlying mechanism is lacking.

    Profiling crRNA architectures for enhanced Cas12 biosensing · 2025 · DOI

  • CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing has been extensively applied in both academia and clinical settings, but its genotoxic risks, including large insertions (LgIns), remain poorly studied due to methodological limitations.

    Prevalent integration of genomic repetitive and regulatory elements and donor sequences at CRISPR-Cas9-induced breaks · 2025 · DOI

  • WYL-domain containing transcription factors regulate fundamental processes in bacterial physiology, yet how these proteins sense cellular cues to elicit an allosteric response is not well understood.

    Allosteric activation mechanism of DriD, a WYL-domain containing transcription regulator · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the influence of alternative double-stranded break (DSB) repair pathways on knock-in remains to be fully explored.

    Comparative analysis of multiple DNA double-strand break repair pathways in CRISPR-mediated endogenous tagging · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

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208 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 715 CRISPR and Genetic Engineering papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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