Cytosine and adenosine base editing in human pluripotent stem cells using transient reporters for editing enrichment

Deaminase fused-Cas9 base editing technologies have enabled precise single-nucleotide genomic editing without the need for the introduction of damaging double-stranded breaks and inefficient homology-directed repair. However, current methods to isolate base-edited cell populations are ineffective, especially when utilized with human pluripotent stem cells, a cell type resistant to genome modification. Here, we outline a series of methods that employ transient reporters of editing enrichment (TREE) to facilitate the highly efficient single-base editing of human cells at precise genomic loci. Briefly, these transient reporters of editing enrichment based methods employ a transient episomal fluorescent reporter that allows for the real-time, flow-cytometry-based enrichment of cells that have had single nucleotide changes at precise genomic locations. This protocol details how these approaches can enable the rapid (similar to 3-4 weeks) and efficient (clonal editing efficiencies >80%) generation of biallelic or multiplexed edited isogenic hPSC lines using adenosine and cytosine base editors.