miniature crispr system enables faster, transgene-free plant breeding

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Plant breeding is critical for global food security, helping to boost crop yields, improve nutritional content, and develop varieties that can thrive under changing climate conditions. Yet, traditional plant transformation methods are often expensive, laborious, and ineffective for many important species.


A new UCLA-led study published in Nature Plants addresses these challenges by introducing a simplified method for heritable, transgene-free genome editing in plants. The team used a miniature CRISPR system delivered via a common plant virus to achieve this breakthrough.


Working with CRISPR-Cas9 co-inventor Jennifer Doudna and UC Berkeley scientist Jill Banfield, UCLA’s Steven Jacobsen modified the tobacco rattle virus to transport a compact CRISPR-like enzyme known as ISYmu1. This enzyme targeted specific DNA sequences in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Notably, the resulting genome edits are inherited by future generations without leaving any trace of the virus or foreign DNA.


"CRISPR has the potential to revolutionize agriculture and adapt it to local needs globally," said Doudna. "By combining the strengths of our labs, we developed a new precision tool for CRISPR engineering in crops."


Jacobsen, the study's senior author and a member of UCLA’s Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, explained why this technology marks a significant advancement in plant science.


The research team successfully developed a method that uses the tobacco rattle virus to deliver the ISYmu1 gene-editing tool directly to germ cells—the reproductive cells responsible for passing traits to the next generation. Traditional methods typically involve cultivating plant tissues under controlled lab conditions, editing cells one by one, and regenerating whole plants, a slow and inefficient process not suitable for many crops, such as the common bean.


While plant viruses offer an attractive delivery option, conventional CRISPR systems are too large for them. By using the smaller ISYmu1 enzyme, the researchers overcame this size limitation.





To achieve these findings, the team first screened various miniature CRISPR systems in plant cells and found ISYmu1 to be the most effective. They then engineered the tobacco rattle virus to carry this editor and introduced it into Arabidopsis plants using a natural soil bacterium. Once inside, the virus spread through the plants, delivering the editing tool.


Successful edits were visually marked—edited areas turned white, including in seedlings—confirming that the reproductive cells were modified. Because plants naturally prevent viruses from entering seeds, only the intended genetic edits were inherited by the next generation.


This new system allows for the production of normal, healthy plants with specific DNA changes in a single step and within one generation, representing a major leap forward for plant breeding technologies.
 
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