Abel Peter van Esch

Mr. Abel Peter van Esch


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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22 December 2022 in Journal of Fungi
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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KVKatherina Garcia Vanegas
Katherina Garcia Vanegas
JRJakob Kræmmer Haar Rendsvig
Jakob Kræmmer Haar Rendsvig
ZJZofia Dorota Jarczynska
Zofia Dorota Jarczynska
MCMarcio Vinicius de C. Barros Cortes
Marcio Vinicius de C. Barros Cortes
AEAbel Peter van Esch
Abel Peter van Esch
UMUffe Hasbro Mortensen
Uffe Hasbro Mortensen
The introduction of CRISPR technologies has revolutionized strain engineering in filamentous fungi. However, its use in commercial applications has been hampered by concerns over intellectual property (IP) ownership, and there is a need for implementing Cas nucleases that are not limited by complex IP constraints. One promising candidate in this context is the Mad7 enzyme, and we here present a versatile Mad7-CRISPR vector-set that can be efficiently used for the genetic engineering of four different Aspergillus species: Aspergillus nidulans, A. niger, A. oryzae and A. campestris, the latter being a species that has never previously been genetically engineered. We successfully used Mad7 to introduce unspecific as well as specific template-directed mutations including gene disruptions, gene insertions and gene deletions. Moreover, we demonstrate that both single-stranded oligonucleotides and PCR fragments equipped with short and long targeting sequences can be used for efficient marker-free gene editing. Importantly, our CRISPR/Mad7 system was functional in both non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) proficient and deficient strains. Therefore, the newly implemented CRISPR/Mad7 was efficient to promote gene deletions and integrations using different types of DNA repair in four different Aspergillus species, resulting in the expansion of CRISPR toolboxes in fungal cell factories.