CRISPR Genome Editing Made Easy Through the CHOPCHOP Website

The design of optimal guide RNA (gRNA) sequences for CRISPR systems is challenged by the need to achieve highly efficient editing at the desired location (on‐target editing) with minimal editing at unintended locations (off‐target editing). Although laboratory validation should ideally be used to detect off‐target activity, computational predictions are almost always preferred in practice due to their speed and low cost. Several studies have therefore explored gRNA‐DNA interactions in order to understand how CRISPR complexes select their genomic targets. CHOPCHOP ( https://chopchop.cbu.uib.no/ ) leverages these developments to build a user‐friendly web interface that helps users design optimal gRNAs. CHOPCHOP supports a wide range of CRISPR applications, including gene knock‐out, sequence knock‐in, and RNA knock‐down. Furthermore, CHOPCHOP offers visualization that enables an informed choice of gRNAs and supports experimental validation. In these protocols, we describe the best practices for gRNA design using CHOPCHOP. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1 : Design of gRNAs for gene knock‐out Alternate Protocol 1 : Design of gRNAs for dCas9 fusion/effector targeting Support Protocol : Design of gRNAs for targeting transgenic or plasmid sequences Basic Protocol 2 : Design of gRNAs for RNA targeting Basic Protocol 3 : Design of gRNAs for sequence knock‐in Alternate Protocol 2 : Design of gRNAs for knock‐in using non‐homologous end joining Basic Protocol 4 : Design of gRNAs for knock‐in using Cas9 nickases