Herpes simplex virus (HSV), the main pathogen of
human herpetic
diseases, is an attractive viral vector due to a wide range of host
cell types and a large capacity of foreign
gene. The manipulation on
herpes simplex virus genome, up to 152 kb, has been the key process and has undergone the improvement from
homologous recombination to
bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and
CRISPR/Cas9. However,
homologous recombination is imperfect because the
efficiency of
recombination is relatively low and the product is too complex to purify.
Construction of recombinant HSV based on BAC is
time-and labor-consuming. Currently,
CRISPR/Cas9 has been applied to
genetic engineering of various species by more and more
researchers due to its convenience, good repeatability,
low cost, and then the manipulation of
viral genome is more accurate and efficient. Application of
CRISPR/Cas9 in the
research of HSV
gene function, HSV
infection therapy and viral vector were summarized in this
review, in order to provide reference for corresponding
research.