On July 9, 2025, researchers conduct experiments at a biotech breeding laboratory in Baoji, Shaanxi Province.Photo: VCG
China’s researchers have developed a new gene-editing technology that enables manipulation of large DNA fragments ranging from thousands to millions of base pairs in animals and plants, significantly expanding the scale and power of gene editing, Technology Daily reported.
The findings, from scientists at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, were published online on Monday in the journal Cell.
In this study, the researchers integrated three innovative systematic approaches to successfully develop a programmable chromosome-level technology, PCE, for the precise manipulation of large DNA fragments.
In experiments with plant and animal cells, the researchers achieved complex operations such as precisely inserting an ultra-large DNA fragment of 18,800 base pairs, directionally replacing a DNA sequence of 5,000 base pairs, inverting a long chromosomal segment of 12 million base pairs, deleting a fragment of 4 million base pairs, and even relocating an entire chromosome.
Reviewers commented that this work represents a major breakthrough in genetic engineering, with enormous potential for applications in breeding and gene therapy.
Global Times