KAUST researchers demonstrated a technique for precisely inserting large genetic sequences into rice and tobacco without first breaking the plants’ DNA.
Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a genome-engineering method that could help scientists introduce more complex traits into crops.
The technique allows large genes and other genetic elements to be inserted at specific locations within plant genomes. The researchers successfully demonstrated the method in rice and tobacco, according to a study published in Nature Biotechnology.
Unlike many existing approaches, the method does not require researchers to create breaks in a plant’s DNA before inserting new genetic material, according to a press release.
Expanding Crop-Improvement Options
Genome-editing tools such as CRISPR can make targeted changes to existing DNA, but precisely adding large genetic sequences remains difficult.
Overcoming that limitation could help researchers develop crops with traits controlled by multiple genes, including improved tolerance to heat, drought and disease. It could also support efforts to use plants to produce medicines, vaccines and other high-value biological products.
“Future advances in plant biotechnology will depend not only on our ability to edit genes, but also on our ability to add entirely new genetic instructions,” said Professor Magdy Mahfouz, professor of Bioengineering at KAUST and senior author of the study. “This work addresses one of the biggest technical challenges in the field and provides researchers with a new tool for building more sophisticated biological traits in plants, including traits that could enable plants to serve as scalable production platforms for therapeutics and other high-value biologics.”
The work remains at the research stage but represents the first demonstration of the approach in plants. It expands the tools available for crop improvement, synthetic biology and plant-based biomanufacturing.
