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Grützner R, Martin P, Horn C, Mortensen S, Cram EJ, Lee-Parsons CW, Stuttmann J, Marillonnet S. High-efficiency genome editing in plants mediated by a Cas9 gene containing multiple introns. Plant Commun 2021; 2:100135. [PMID: 33898975 PMCID: PMC8060730 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2020.100135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of the mode of action of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has provided biologists with a useful tool for generating site-specific mutations in genes of interest. In plants, site-targeted mutations are usually obtained by the stable transformation of a Cas9 expression construct into the plant genome. The efficiency of introducing mutations in genes of interest can vary considerably depending on the specific features of the constructs, including the source and nature of the promoters and terminators used for the expression of the Cas9 gene and the guide RNA, and the sequence of the Cas9 nuclease itself. To optimize the efficiency of the Cas9 nuclease in generating mutations in target genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, we investigated several features of its nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence, including the codon usage, the number of nuclear localization signals (NLSs), and the presence or absence of introns. We found that the Cas9 gene codon usage had some effect on its activity and that two NLSs worked better than one. However, the highest efficiency of the constructs was achieved by the addition of 13 introns into the Cas9 coding sequence, which dramatically improved the editing efficiency of the constructs. None of the primary transformants obtained with a Cas9 gene lacking introns displayed a knockout mutant phenotype, whereas between 70% and 100% of the primary transformants generated with the intronized Cas9 gene displayed mutant phenotypes. The intronized Cas9 gene was also found to be effective in other plants such as Nicotiana benthamiana and Catharanthus roseus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona Grützner
- Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Patrick Martin
- Institute for Biology, Department of Plant Genetics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Weinbergweg 10, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Claudia Horn
- Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Erin J. Cram
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Carolyn W.T. Lee-Parsons
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Johannes Stuttmann
- Institute for Biology, Department of Plant Genetics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Weinbergweg 10, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Sylvestre Marillonnet
- Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
- Corresponding author
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Kirchner L, Wirshing A, Kurt L, Reinard T, Glick J, Cram EJ, Jacobsen HJ, Lee-Parsons CW. Identification, characterization, and expression of diacylgylcerol acyltransferase type-1 from Chlorella vulgaris. ALGAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2015.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Lee-Parsons CW, Shuler ML. Sparge gas composition affects biomass and ajmalicine production from immobilized cell cultures of Catharanthus roseus. Enzyme Microb Technol 2005. [DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2005.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Wong PL, Royce AJ, Lee-Parsons CW. Improved ajmalicine production and recovery from Catharanthus roseus suspensions with increased product removal rates. Biochem Eng J 2004. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2004.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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