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Jia H, Omar AA, Xu J, Dalmendray J, Wang Y, Feng Y, Wang W, Hu Z, Grosser JW, Wang N. Generation of transgene-free canker-resistant Citrus sinensis cv. Hamlin in the T0 generation through Cas12a/CBE co-editing. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1385768. [PMID: 38595767 PMCID: PMC11002166 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1385768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Citrus canker disease affects citrus production. This disease is caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc). Previous studies confirmed that during Xcc infection, PthA4, a transcriptional activator like effector (TALE), is translocated from the pathogen to host plant cells. PthA4 binds to the effector binding elements (EBEs) in the promoter region of canker susceptibility gene LOB1 (EBEPthA4-LOBP) to activate its expression and subsequently cause canker symptoms. Previously, the Cas12a/CBE co-editing method was employed to disrupt EBEPthA4-LOBP of pummelo, which is highly homozygous. However, most commercial citrus cultivars are heterozygous hybrids and more difficult to generate homozygous/biallelic mutants. Here, we employed Cas12a/CBE co-editing method to edit EBEPthA4-LOBP of Hamlin (Citrus sinensis), a commercial heterozygous hybrid citrus cultivar grown worldwide. Binary vector GFP-p1380N-ttLbCas12a:LOBP1-mPBE:ALS2:ALS1 was constructed and shown to be functional via Xcc-facilitated agroinfiltration in Hamlin leaves. This construct allows the selection of transgene-free regenerants via GFP, edits ALS to generate chlorsulfuron-resistant regenerants as a selection marker for genome editing resulting from transient expression of the T-DNA via nCas9-mPBE:ALS2:ALS1, and edits gene(s) of interest (i.e., EBEPthA4-LOBP in this study) through ttLbCas12a, thus creating transgene-free citrus. Totally, 77 plantlets were produced. Among them, 8 plantlets were transgenic plants (#HamGFP1 - #HamGFP8), 4 plantlets were transgene-free (#HamNoGFP1 - #HamNoGFP4), and the rest were wild type. Among 4 transgene-free plantlets, three lines (#HamNoGFP1, #HamNoGFP2 and #HamNoGFP3) contained biallelic mutations in EBEpthA4, and one line (#HamNoGFP4) had homozygous mutations in EBEpthA4. We achieved 5.2% transgene-free homozygous/biallelic mutation efficiency for EBEPthA4-LOBP in C. sinensis cv. Hamlin, compared to 1.9% mutation efficiency for pummelo in a previous study. Importantly, the four transgene-free plantlets and 3 transgenic plantlets that survived were resistant against citrus canker. Taken together, Cas12a/CBE co-editing method has been successfully used to generate transgene-free canker-resistant C. sinensis cv. Hamlin in the T0 generation via biallelic/homozygous editing of EBEpthA4 of the canker susceptibility gene LOB1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongge Jia
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Ahmad A. Omar
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Horticultural Sciences Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Jin Xu
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Javier Dalmendray
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Yuanchun Wang
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Yu Feng
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Wenting Wang
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Zhuyuan Hu
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Jude W. Grosser
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Horticultural Sciences Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
| | - Nian Wang
- Citrus Research and Education Center, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
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Tonutti P, Brizzolara S, Beckles DM. Reducing crop losses by gene-editing control of organ developmental physiology. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 81:102925. [PMID: 37003167 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Some physiological processes in reproductive organs, if not controlled, can lead to crop loss even in the absence of environmental stress. These processes may occur pre- or post- harvest, and in diverse species and include abscission processes in cereal grain, e.g., shattering and in immature fruit, e.g., preharvest drop, preharvest sprouting of cereals, and postharvest senescence in fruit. Some of the molecular mechanisms and genetic determinants underlying these processes are now better detailed, making it possible to refine them by gene editing. Here, we discuss using advanced genomics to identify genetic determinants underlying crop physiological traits. Examples of improved phenotypes developed for preharvest problems are provided, and suggestions for reducing postharvest fruit losses by gene and promoter editing were made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Tonutti
- Crop Science Research Center, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Brizzolara
- Crop Science Research Center, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Diane M Beckles
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Khaliq G, Ali S, Gapper N, Nicola S. Editorial: Recent advances and approaches in the application of elicitors to enhance resistance mechanisms in fresh produce. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.1061079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
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