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CRISPR technology has attracted media attention in recent months on its potential future applications in humans. What is perhaps less known is that genome editing, which now includes CRISPR / Cas9 engineering, has been used for decades to modify and improve plants, thereby increasing yields. and introduce new desirable characteristics that can improve food production. .
Scientists have created the Plant Genome Modification Database of the Boyce Thompson Institute to encourage sharing of data experiences in which CRISPR / Cas9 technology, as well as other methods of gene modification, were used to study traits of economic importance. We talked to Zhangjun Fei and David Stern from the institute to find out more.
Karen Steward (KS): Can you tell us a bit more about the creation of the Plant Genome Modification Database and how it is managed and managed? Why is it important that such databases are readily available?
Zhangjun Fei (ZF): CRISPR / Cas has been widely used to generate mutants in various plant species, which generates large amounts of data that are very useful but difficult to access in the world of research. To this end, we have developed the Plant Genome Modification Database, which is a central repository for effectively managing this data, as well as a platform for sharing data and mutants with the community of humans. researchers. With complete information on mutants generated by CRISPR / Cas archived in the Plant Genome Modification Database, the database will enable more efficient use of resources by reducing unnecessary duplicate experiments and catalyzing collaborations between research institutes. We encourage researchers who generate mutants of plants using genome editing technologies to submit their data to the database for sharing. At the same time, our groups also collect mutant plant data from the literature, which will be placed in the database for easy access and sharing.
KS: Can you highlight some of the biggest successes you saw as the impact of plant genome modification on the food industry?
David Stern (DS): For the moment, to my knowledge, there is on the market a gene edited product, which is a "healthier" soybean oil marketed by Calyxt. There have been several press releases on this topic in the last two weeks. However, there is a lot to do.
KS: How has the availability of CRISPR / Cas9 gene editing improved agricultural research compared to traditional genome editing techniques?
DS: To understand the basic mechanisms of plant growth, development, nutrition and resistance, scientists have been seeking for decades to modify plants and observe their properties in the laboratory or in the field. The accuracy of gene editing is extremely attractive for modifying the genome of a plant without disrupting other genes or introducing "foreign" DNA. The traditional methods used to create transgenic plants often involve the introduction of bacterial DNA with the gene or genes of interest.
Molly Campbell (MC): With regard to the genetic editing of plants, what traits are generally considered the most valuable and why?
ZF: The most valuable traits include those related to yield and crop quality, as well as tolerances to biotic and abiotic stress. Improving these characteristics can increase the value of a crop, reduce stress on the environment and help crops persist in the face of climate change challenges.
MC: To date, how many plants have been generated with CRISPR / Cas 9 technology and documented in the database?
ZF: In the database, we have currently archived more than 400 CRISPR / Cas generated tomato mutants. We invite researchers from around the world to submit their mutated data generated in any plant species using any genome editing technology.
MC: What are the current challenges in genetic editing of plants? How do you plan to overcome these challenges?
ZF: One of the challenges of gene editing is to modify the genome in the wrong place, which can result in undesirable or deleterious changes to the genome. To meet this challenge, new technologies are constantly being developed to minimize these undesirable effects. In addition, with advances in sequencing technology, mutants can be verified for off-target modifications using whole genome sequencing, and we can select those that do not have off-target targets. Another challenge is the lack of effective processing systems for some crops, which could make it difficult to apply genome editing technologies.
Zhangjun Fei and David Stern spoke to Karen Steward and Molly Campbell, science writers at Technology Networks.
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