利用CRISPR/Cas9系统定向改良水稻稻瘟病抗性

[目的]CRISPR/Cas9 基因编辑技术是作物遗传改良的有效工具。本研究通过对水稻Pita、Pi21和ERF922稻瘟病相关基因进行定点编辑,以期获得能够稳定遗传的抗稻瘟病水稻材料。[方法]利用 CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术,以 Pita、Pi21 和 ERF922 为靶基因,构建共编辑载体 pC1300-2×35S::Cas9-g^Pita-g^Pi21-g^ERF922 ,用农杆菌转化长粒粳稻恢复系L1014,筛选获得稳定遗传的纯合突变体用于稻瘟病抗性鉴定。[结果]在T0代转基因株系中,Pita、Pi21和ERF922 突变频率分别为 75%、85%和 65%,突变基因型多为双等位突变。筛选到的不含 T-DNA成分的T1代能够稳定遗传给T2代,并从中获得 Pi21单突变纯合株系及Pita、Pi21和ERF922的三突变纯合株系。稻瘟病抗性鉴定结果表明,与野生型相比,突变株系的抗性显著提高。同时,接种后纯合突变体株系内水杨酸、茉莉酸和乙烯等信号转导途径相关基因的表达量均上调。据此,我们推测纯合突变株系对稻瘟病的抗性增强可能与其对稻瘟病菌的响应被激活有关。[结论]利用 CRISPR/Cas9 技术获得了能够稳定遗传和具有较高稻瘟病抗性的纯合突变株系,为水稻稻瘟病抗性改良提供了良好的材料。     

利用CRISPR/Cas9系统定向改良水稻稻瘟病抗性

【目的】CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术是作物遗传改良的有效工具。本研究通过对水稻Pita、Pi21和ERF922稻瘟病相关基因进行定点编辑，以期获得能够稳定遗传的抗稻瘟病水稻材料。【方法】利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术，以Pita、Pi21和ERF922为靶基因，构建共编辑载体pC1300-2×35S::Cas9-gPita-gPi21-gERF922 ，用农杆菌转化长粒粳稻恢复系L1014，筛选获得稳定遗传的纯合突变体用于稻瘟病抗性鉴定。【结果】在T0代转基因株系中，Pita、Pi21和ERF922突变频率分别为75%、85%和65%，突变基因型多为双等位突变。筛选到的不含T-DNA成分的T1代能够稳定遗传给T2代，并从中获得Pi21单突变纯合株系及Pita、Pi21和ERF922的三突变纯合株系。稻瘟病抗性鉴定结果表明，与野生型相比，突变株系的抗性显著提高。同时，接种后纯合突变体株系内水杨酸、茉莉酸和乙烯等信号转导途径相关基因的表达量均上调。据此，我们推测纯合突变株系对稻瘟病的抗性增强可能与其对稻瘟病菌的响应被激活有关。【结论】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术获得了能够稳定遗传和具有较高稻瘟病抗性的纯合突变株系，为水稻稻瘟病抗性改良提供了良好的材料。     

利用CRISPR/Cas9技术创制抗稻瘟病香型早籼温敏核不育系

【目的】创制新型抗稻瘟病香型早籼温敏核不育系，为高产优质杂交水稻选育提供资源。【方法】利用CRISPP/Cas9技术在水稻稻瘟病基因Pi21、温敏不育基因TMS5和香味基因Badh2的第1外显子处设计靶位点，构建多基因表达载体pC1300-2×35S::g^TMS5-g^Badh2-g^Pi21，转化优质常规籼稻品种中早70，测序鉴定分析获得纯合阳性稳定株系。利用稻瘟病喷雾接种和打孔接种方法对稻瘟病基因Pi21的纯合突变株系进行稻瘟病抗性鉴定，利用GC-MS技术对Badh2纯合突变株系的香味物质2-乙酰-1-吡咯啉（2-AP）含量进行测定。【结果】在T₀转基因株系中，Pi21、TMS5和Badh2突变频率分别为87.5%、80.0%和87.5%，突变类型多为双等位突变。从T₁代中筛选不含载体骨架的纯合突变株系，获得两种三突变纯合株系。稻瘟病接种结果表明，与野生型相比，T₂代Pi21纯合变异株系的抗性显著提高。同时，接种后纯合突变体株系内相关防卫基因的表达量显著上调，ROS积累量也显著增加。tms5纯合变异株系表现出典型的温敏不育特性，TMS5基因的表达水平与野生型相比显著降低，高温下Ub_L404基因的表达水平明显高于野生型。与野生型相比，在Badh2纯合突变体植株中Badh2的表达水平显著下调，并且香味物质2-AP含量极显著增加。【结论】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术成功对Pi21、TMS5和Badh2基因同时进行定向编辑，获得了具有高抗稻瘟病的香型温敏不育系，为高抗、香型不育系材料的选育提供参考，加快高产优质杂交水稻的选育。     

Production of Two Elite Glutinous Rice Varieties by Editing Wx Gene

The waxy gene(Wx) in rice, which encodes the granule bound starch synthase enzyme, is responsible for amylose synthesis. Glutinous(sticky) rice has little or no amylose that can be used in various applications, such as brewing. In this study, knockout of the Wx gene with CRISPR/Cas9 technology was conducted in two elite japonica rice lines, Huaidao 5(HD5) and Suken 118(SK118), aiming to develop elite sticky rice varieties. We achieved six homozygous T_0 plants with more than 200 bp deletion in the Wx gene, as well as 36 wx-HD5 and 18 wx-SK118 homozygous transgene-free plants in the T_1 generation. The seeds of all the mutants were white and opaque, similar to those of sticky rice, and contained only 2.6%–3.2% amylose. Results of scanning electron microscopy showed that the quality of rice did not change. In conclusion, we successfully developed two elite sticky rice varieties.     

Gene targeting using the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated CRISPR-Cas system in rice

Background

The type II clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/ CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system is a novel molecular tool for site-specific genome modification. The CRISPR-Cas9 system was recently introduced into plants by transient or stable transformation.

Findings

Here, we report gene targeting in rice via the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated CRISPR-Cas9 system. Three 20-nt CRISPR RNAs were designed to pair with diverse sites followed by the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) of the rice herbicide resistance gene BEL. After integrating the single-guide RNA (sgRNA) and Cas9 cassette in a single binary vector, transgenic rice plants harboring sgRNA:Cas9 were generated by A. tumefaciens-mediated stable transformation. By analyzing the targeting site on the genome of corresponding transgenic plants, the mutations were determined. The mutagenesis efficiency was varied from ~2% to ~16%. Furthermore, phenotypic analysis revealed that the biallelic mutated transgenic plant was sensitive to bentazon.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that the agricultural trait could be purposely modified by sgRNA:Cas9-induced gene targeting. CRISPR-Cas9 system could be exploited as a powerful tool for trait improvements in crop breeding.     

Improving Rice Blast Resistance by Mining Broad-Spectrum Resistance Genes at Pik Locus

Magnaporthe oryzae is known for its genetic diversity and pathogenic variability, leading to rapid breakdown of resistance in rice. Incorporating multiple broad-spectrum blast resistance genes into rice cultivars would extend disease resistance longevity. Effective resistance breeding in rice therefore requires continual enrichment of the reservoir of resistance genes and alleles. We conducted a large-scale screen of rice blast resistance in about 2 000 rice accessions. Among them, 247 accessions showed at least medium resistance to the natural infection of rice blast and 7 novel Pik alleles were identified from them. Variations in gene sequences were then correlated with the phenotypic trait to enable the identification of favorable alleles. Among the seven novel Pik alleles, the resistant rate of Pik-R0/ME/7017 donors was greater than 80%, and the disease score was less than 3. Through molecular marker-assisted backcross breeding, we successfully transferred the three Pik alleles, Pik-R0/ME/7017, into an elite cultivated line Kongyu 131 to obtain BC₃F₂ lines, which showed enhanced resistance to rice blast compared with the recurrent parent. Assessment of these near-isogenic lines in the greenhouse using 31 isolates of M. oryzae from Heilongjiang Province of China revealed that the resistant levels of the BC₃F₂ lines with Pik-R0/ME/7017 were significantly higher than those of the established cloned resistance genes Pik-m and Pi1. Exploring such alleles will enrich our gene library for resistance to rice blast.     

Progress of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in breeding of Brassica napus

Gene editing technology provides important technical basics for the research in plant functional genes and crop genetic improvement. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing is an effective experimental tool for crop genome directed editing in recent years, which has been widely used in many crops as rice, wheat and other crops. CRISPR/Cas9 system was expected to be a powerful experimental tool in genetic improvement and molecular design breeding of rapeseed. This paper, which based on the development history and the latest research of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing technology in rapeseed, summarized the progress of CRISPR/Cas9 including plant type improvement, yield traits, quality improvement, disease and stress resistance improvement, yellow seed creation and other utilizes at present. The application scope, development direction and target analysis method of this technology in rape were focused. The problems of CRISPR/cas9 system in rapeseed breeding were analyzed and the improvement strategies were discussed. Finally, views on direction of rapeseed breeding by gene editing were emphasized.     

Identification of resistant germplasm containing novel resistance genes at or tightly linked to the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pi2/9</Emphasis> locus conferring broad-spectrum resistance against rice blast

Background

The rice Pi2/9 locus harbors multiple resistance (R) genes each controlling broad-spectrum resistance against diverse isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae, a fungal pathogen causing devastating blast disease to rice. Identification of more resistance germplasm containing novel R genes at or tightly linked to the Pi2/9 locus would promote breeding of resistance rice cultivars.

Results

In this study, we aim to identify resistant germplasm containing novel R genes at or tightly linked to the Pi2/9 locus using a molecular marker, designated as Pi2/9-RH (Pi2/9 resistant haplotype), developed from the 5′ portion of the Pi2 sequence which was conserved only in the rice lines containing functional Pi2/9 alleles. DNA analysis using Pi2/9-RH identified 24 positive lines in 55 shortlisted landraces which showed resistance to 4 rice blast isolates. Analysis of partial sequences of the full-length cDNAs of Pi2/9 homologues resulted in the clustering of these 24 lines into 5 haplotypes each containing different Pi2/9 homologues which were designated as Pi2/9-A5, ?A15, ?A42, ?A53, and -A54. Interestingly, Pi2/9-A5 and Pi2/9-A54 are identical to Piz-t and Pi2, respectively. To validate the association of other three novel Pi2/9 homologues with the blast resistance, monogenic lines at BC₃F₃ generation were generated by marker assisted backcrossing (MABC). Resistance assessment of the derived monogenic lines in both the greenhouse and the field hotspot indicated that they all controlled broad-spectrum resistance against rice blast. Moreover, genetic analysis revealed that the blast resistance of these three monogenic lines was co-segregated with Pi2/9-RH, suggesting that the Pi2/9 locus or tightly linked loci could be responsible for the resistance.

Conclusion

The newly developed marker Pi2/9-RH could be used as a potentially diagnostic marker for the quick identification of resistant donors containing functional Pi2/9 alleles or unknown linked R genes. The three new monogenic lines containing the Pi2/9 introgression segment could be used as valuable materials for disease assessment and resistance donors in breeding program.

     

Improvements of TKC Technology Accelerate Isolation of Transgene-Free CRISPR/Cas9-Edited Rice Plants

Elimination of the CRISPR/Cas9 constructs in edited plants is a prerequisite for assessing genetic stability, conducting phenotypic characterization, and applying for commercialization of the plants. However, removal of the CRISPR/Cas9 transgenes by genetic segregation and by backcross is laborious and time consuming. We previously reported the development of the transgene killer CRISPR (TKC) technology that uses a pair of suicide genes to trigger self-elimination of the transgenes without compromising gene editing efficiency. The TKC technology enables isolation of transgene-free CRISPR-edited plants within a single generation, greatly accelerating crop improvements. Here, we presented two new TKC vectors that show great efficiency in both editing the target gene and in undergoing self-elimination of the transgenes. The new vectors replaced the CaMV35S promoter used in our previous TKC vector with two rice promoters to drive one of the suicide genes, providing advantages over our previous TKC vector under certain conditions. The vectors reported here offered more options and flexibility to conduct gene editing experiments in rice.     

利用CRISPR/Cas9技术创制Rc基因恢复红稻

【目的】将栽培稻品种恢复为米质优、抗逆性强的红稻具有较大的研究价值。利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术，编辑原花青素转录调节因子Rc基因，恢复红种皮特性，以改良水稻米质，提升抗逆性。【方法】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术，以Rc为靶基因，构建突变载体pYLCRISPR/Cas9-Rc-gRNA，以空育180、上育453为材料，转化获得转基因植株，通过测序手段和表型观察验证成果。【结果】分子水平检测获得Rc突变材料2种，其中KY-1在1414―1417 bp缺失4个碱基，终止子突变为苯丙氨酸；SY-1在1411 bp处缺失1个碱基，终止子突变为天冬氨酸。2种编辑材料均恢复为红米表型，且具有一定耐盐碱能力。【结论】利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术成功获得恢复红种皮表型的纯合株系，为红米改良提供基础材料。     

Osa-mi R439 Negatively Regulates Rice Immunity Against Magnaporthe oryzae

Osa-miR439 is a rice-specific microRNA family. Here we showed that Osa-miR439 acted as anegative regulator in rice immunity against blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Osa-miR439 differentiallyresponded to M. oryzae between susceptible and resistant rice accessions. The accumulation ofOsa-miR439 was constitutively more in the susceptible accession than in the resistant one. Transgeniclines overexpressing Osa-miR439a (OX439a) showed higher susceptibility associating with lower inductionof defense-related genes and less hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation at the infection sites than thecontrol plants. In contrast, transgenic lines expressing a target mimic of Osa-miR439 (MIM439) displayedcompromised susceptibility associating with increased H2O2 accumulation. Furthermore, we found thatthe expression of three predicted target genes was decreased in OX439a but increased in MIM439 incomparison to control plants, and this expression was differential in susceptible and resistant accessionsupon M. oryzae infection, indicating that Osa-miR439a may regulate rice blast resistance via these genes.Our results unveiled the role of Osa-miR439a in rice blast resistance and provided the potentiality toimprove the blast resistance via miRNA.     

利用CRISPR/Cas9技术创制高效抗除草剂水稻

【目的】培育抗除草剂品种在水稻育种中具有重要意义。利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术,以黑龙江优质粳稻品种为材料,编辑乙酰乳酸合酶ALS基因,创制具有抗除草剂特性的水稻材料。【方法】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术,以乙酰乳酸合酶ALS为靶基因,构建单碱基突变载体pH-nCas9-PBE-ALS,以松粳22、龙粳46和绥粳18为转化材料,利用农杆菌介导转化获得转基因植株,通过对转基因植株的突变位点进行测序结合除草剂喷施试验,鉴定基因型及表型。【结果】经分子水平检测验证,获得ALS^S627N突变植株10株,ALS^S627N且¹⁸⁸⁴G-A但第628位氨基酸未改变突变植株1株,ALS^S627N/G628E突变植株1株。相较于野生型,以上三类突变植株均具有较强抗除草剂特性。【结论】利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术获得具有抗除草剂特性,能够稳定遗传,不含转基因标记的纯合株系,可为抗除草剂水稻育种提供基础材料。     

CRISPR/Cas9介导的多基因编辑系统在大豆中的应用

自CRISPR/Cas9（clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9）基因 组编辑技术发现以来，迅速在作物中得到广泛应用。但是，CRISPR/Cas9多基因编辑系统在大豆中的研究尚待开 发。本文利用CRISPR/Cas9介导的多基因编辑系统，分别构建了两个载体，一个载体含6个靶点，编辑7个大豆基因 （4个Glycine max ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1（GmAS1）同源基因和3个GmAS2 同源基因），另一个载体含8个靶点，编辑 11个G. max AGAMOUS 家族同源基因（4个GmAG 同源基因，2个G. max SEEDSTICK（GmSTK）同源基因和5个G. max SHATTERPROOF1（GmSHP1/2）同源基因）。大豆遗传转化后，经表型鉴定和靶点检测发现，CRISPR/Cas9介导的多 基因编辑系统在大豆中成功实现了多基因编辑。当3个GmAS1 同源基因和3个GmAS2 同源基因同时突变时，导致 大豆叶片向远轴面弯曲、皱缩且叶柄变短的表型。当2个GmSHP1 同源基因和2个GmSTK 同源基因同时突变时，导 致豆荚停止发育的不育表型。     

Development of Marker-Free Transgenic Cry1Ab Rice with Lepidopteran Pest Resistance by Agrobacterium Mixture-Mediated Co-transformation

Cry1Ab gene was transformed into four rice varieties, Zhejing 22, Zhejing 27, Jiahua 1 and Xiushui 63 mediated by Agrobacterium-mixture co-transformation. Rice genotype had an important effect on callus induction and transformation efficiency. Different mixtures of Agrobacterium strains (EHA105 and EHA101) contained Hpt and Cry1Ab genes resulted in different frequencies of resistant calli. There was no correlation between the frequency of transformants with the ratio of the Agrobacterium strain mixture contained Hpt and Cry1Ab genes. A total of 509 transgenic plants were obtained from the four rice varieties, and 272 T₂ progenies were analyzed for Cry1Ab and Hpt genes. PCR analysis revealed that 412 regenerated plants were Hpt positive (80.94%), 62 plants were also Cry1Ab co-transformants (15.05% in total frequency), and 42 plants among the 272 T₂ progenies were Cry1Ab positive but Hpt negative. This suggests that marker-free transgenic plants could be produced by co-transformation mediated by mixed Agrobacterium strains with the selectable marker gene and target gene. Southern blot analysis of five independent marker-free T₂ transgenic lines co-transformed from Zhejing 22 showed that Cry1Ab gene had been inserted into rice genome with a single copy. The transgenic plants showed significantly stronger resistance to lepidopteron than the non-transgenic plants under no application of insecticides against lepidopteron.     

CRISPR/Cas9系统在植物育种中的应用

人工核酸酶系统是在特定的基因组位点,进行切割进而利用生物内源的修复系统对目标基因进行编辑,创造新基因型的基因编辑技术。CRISPR/Cas9系统是原核生物抵御噬菌体侵染的天然适应性免疫系统。经过优化的CRISPR/Cas9编辑系统凭借操作简单,突变效率高,成本低等特点优越于其他核酸酶系统,比如锌指核酸酶系统和TALE核酸酶系统。目前,优化改造后的CRISPR/Cas9编辑系统已经在植物功能基因研究和新材料创制中得到了广泛地应用。本研究简述了CRISPR/Cas9编辑系统的结构和作用机理,归纳并论述了CRISPR/Cas9系统在植物中的编辑效率与脱靶效应和在改良作物农艺性状中的应用。最后,总结了CRISPR/Cas9系统在功能基因组学研究中应用扩展,以及展望了该系统在作物育种中的发展前景及应用价值,期望为高效利用CRISPR/Cas9系统进行新材料创制、作物品种改良提供参考。      

利用CRISPR/Cas9技术高效创制长粒香型水稻

【目的】CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术已成为水稻分子育种的重要手段。为了促进水稻育种的发展,本研究以非香型粳稻品种龙粳11为试验材料,对GS3、GS9和Badh2基因进行编辑,以期获得能稳定遗传的长粒香水稻材料。【方法】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术,以GS3、GS9和Badh2为靶基因,构建敲除载体pYLCRISPR/Cas9-GS3/ GS9/Badh2-gRNA,通过农杆菌介导法,在龙粳11的GS3、GS9和Badh2基因中引入了特定的突变。【结果】T₂代无转基因的gs3/gs9/badh2纯合突变体与野生型龙粳11相比,粒长增加26.43%~27.01%,单株产量增加10.82%~12.11%,千粒重增加18.34%~41.36%,稻米变香,高效地将圆粒水稻变成长粒香型水稻。【结论】利用CRISPR/Cas9技术获得能够稳定遗传并具有长粒香品质的纯合突变株系,为组合多个品质性状提供了一种方便有效的方法,从育种角度加快了新品系创制过程。     

Editing of Rice Endosperm Plastidial Phosphorylase Gene OsPho1 Advances Its Function in Starch Synthesis

正Os Pho1 in Zhonghua 11(ZH11) was edited using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeatsassociated endonuclease 9(CRISPR/Cas9) system. Two homozygous T1 mutants(cr-pho1-34 and cr-pho1-37) displayed a chalky endosperm with a white core, which significantly decreased 1000-grain weight.