Japanese research points to cleaner gene editing for fruit and veg crops

Researchers in Japan have developed a better way to edit plant genes without leaving behind foreign DNA. This work was done by the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) together with the University of Tokyo and Ryukoku University.

Genome editing lets scientists change specific parts of a plant’s DNA. Traditionally, this has involved inserting the gene for an editing enzyme into the plant’s own DNA. While effective, this method means the plant contains foreign DNA and in many cases has to be bred for several generations so that offspring no longer carry the editing gene.

Plants that reproduce without seeds — like potatoes and fruit trees — are much harder to breed this way. To solve this, the research team used a harmless virus called Potato Virus X (PVX) to carry a smaller and more efficient editing enzyme known as modified AsCas12f directly into plant cells.

Because the virus can spread throughout the plant, it delivers the editing tool more widely and doesn’t require the enzyme gene to integrate into the plant’s own DNA. With this approach, the scientists achieved about 60% success in producing edited plants, roughly 30 times higher efficiency than older methods using a larger enzyme called SpCas9.

The team also developed a way to remove the virus after editing, so the final plants are free of added DNA and viral material. This technique opens up possibilities for applying efficient genome editing to a wider range of crops, including those that can’t be easily bred through seeds.

source: frontiersin.org, naro.go.jp

graphics: naro.go.jp