Effective IHH gene knockout by CRISPR/Cas9 system in chicken DF-1 cells

Indian hedgehog (IHH) gene codes an important signal molecule mediating chondrogenesis and bone development in chickens, which are key factors that affect body weight and several other significant economic traits. The aim of this study was to construct an IHH knockout cell model using CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology to further analyze the function of IHH. TA cloning was used to screen the single-guide RNA (sgRNA1) [45 %] and sgRNA3 (30.8 %) with the highest targeting efficiency. Monoclonal cells were selected by flow cytometry for TA cloning sequencing to construct the IHH knockout cell model. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the changes in downstream gene expression levels after IHH knockout. TA cloning sequencing results showed that the IHH knockout cell model was successfully constructed, and two mutation types were generated with a 100 % mutation rate. In addition, qPCR results revealed that the expression of patched 1 (PTCH1), smoothened, frizzled class receptor (Smo), glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (Gli1), glioma-associated oncogene homolog 2 (Gli2), and osteopontin (OPN) was significantly lower in the IHH knockout group, while that of type II collagen (Col Ⅱ) was significantly higher. These results lay a theoretical foundation for the successful application of knockout technology in poultry functional genomics research and provide a stable knockout cell line model for further study of chicken IHH gene function.