Researchers from the Amrita School of Biotechnology in India created a flexible CRISPR-Combo platform for simultaneous genome editing and gene activation in plants. The results of their study are summarized in Science Open.
Plant genome engineering has benefited from CRISPR-Cas9, its derived base editors, and CRISPR activation systems. However, these systems are commonly applied separated, and thus their combined potential is not realized. To elucidate the impact of combining these systems, the researchers developed a CRISPR-Combo platform.
The florigen gene in Arabidopsis was activated, and then CRISPR-Combo was applied to shorten the plant life cycle and decrease the process for screening transgene-free genome-edited plants. Activation of morphogenic genes in poplar was done to exhibit how genome-edited plants are able to regenerate and reproduce faster. Furthermore, CRISPR-Combo was used to achieve rice generation without using exogenous plant hormones.
Based on the findings, CRISPR-Combo has potential applications in crop breeding.
Source: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=19956