Determining causal relationships between distinct chromatin features and gene expression, and ultimately cell behavior, remains a major challenge. Recent developments in targetable epigenome-editing tools enable us to assign direct transcriptional and functional consequences to locus-specific chromatin modifications. This Protocol Review discusses the unprecedented opportunity that CRISPR/Cas9 technology offers for investigating and manipulating the epigenome to facilitate further understanding of stem cell biology and engineering of stem cells for therapeutic applications. We also provide technical considerations for standardization and further improvement of the CRISPR/Cas9-based tools to engineer the epigenome.

中文翻译：

---

基于CRISPR / Cas9的表观基因组工程。

确定不同的染色质特征和基因表达之间的因果关系，以及最终确定细胞行为，仍然是一个重大挑战。靶向表观基因组编辑工具的最新发展使我们能够将直接转录和功能后果分配给基因座特异性染色质修饰。该协议审查讨论了CRISPR / Cas9技术为研究和操纵表观基因组提供的前所未有的机会，以促进对干细胞生物学的进一步了解和用于治疗应用的干细胞工程。我们还为标准化和进一步改进基于CRISPR / Cas9的表观基因组工具提供了技术方面的考虑。