Protocol for the functional evaluation of genetic variants using saturation genome editing.

Abstract

Saturation genome editing (SGE) employs CRISPR-Cas9 and homology-directed repair (HDR) to introduce exhaustive nucleotide modifications at specific genomic sites in multiplex, enabling the functional analysis of genetic variants while preserving their native genomic context. Here, we present a protocol for SGE-based variant evaluation in HAP1-A5 cells. We describe the steps for designing variant libraries, single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs), and oligonucleotide primers for PCR. We also detail the sample preparation before the SGE screen, the cellular screening process, and subsequent next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Radford et al.,¹ Waters et al.,² and Olvera-León et al.³.