Recently, Sharon Amacher and I wrote a protocol for doing CRISPR mutagenesis in zebrafish. The methods we described have been very useful to our lab, and has been the stuff of good conversation. In addition, we have shared the protocol with several other labs, who also found it helpful. We hope to see it published soon, and I would like to move the conversation to an open forum, in case the readers of that publication care to chime in.

With this in mind, I've set up this "zCRISPR" blog. I tried to model this "blog" after Chi-Bin Chien's Tol2kit blog; in which each entry was a fairly brief announcement, and the comments sections became a forum for conversations as new techniques developed. I suspect that this blog wont be as popular as Chi-Bin's, but he laid out a good model to work with.

 Last night, I posted a few conversation starters about the protocol we wrote- and invite any readers  to add comments, questions, and suggestions to those posts.  At the outset, I hope to improve and clarify the methods we've already written up- last night's posts have this goal in mind. As the protocol evolves, we'll post the major updates in new blog entries, which may themselves become fodder for further conversation.

In addition, I hope to use this blog as a place to discuss new  CRISPR techniques as they come out; including things not covered in the protocol Sharon and I wrote, and hopefully including things we've never dreamed of. CRISPR has opened up an exciting world of possibilities. I would be shocked and dissapointed if we have already imagined even the outlines of all the applications and implications of CRISPR/Cas.

Sincerely,
Jared Talbot