High-efficiency genomic editing in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid B cells using a single-stranded donor oligonucleotide strategy

While human lymphoblastoid cell lines represent a valuable resource for population genetic studies, they have usually been regarded as difficult for CRISPR-mediated genomic editing because of very inefficient DNA transfection and retroviral or lentiviral transduction in these cells, which becomes a substantial problem when multiple constructs need to be co-expressed. Here we describe a protocol using a single-stranded donor oligonucleotide strategy for ‘scarless’ editing in lymphoblastoid cells, yielding 12/60 (20%) of clones with homology-directed recombination, when rates of <5–10% are frequently typical for many other cell types. The protocol does not require the use of lentiviruses or stable transfection, permitting lymphoblastoid cell lines to be used for CRISPR-mediated genomic targeting and screening in population genetic studies. Andrew Johnston et al. present a genome-editing protocol for lymphoblastoid cell lines, using a single-stranded donor oligonucleotide strategy for ‘scarless’ editing. This protocol streamlines the genome-editing procedure used for lymphoblastoid cell lines by waiving the need for lentiviruses or stable transfection.