Gene editing gives disease-prone pulses a shortlist of pathogen-blocking targets
Singer SD, Mukthar MM, Subedi U, Poudel H, Chen G
Crispr
Chickpeas, lentils, and dry beans fail at alarming rates when fungal or bacterial disease sweeps through a field, and the pesticide options are running thin; precision gene editing offers a path to crops that can shrug off those pathogens without adding chemical load to the soil.
Pulses are the group of crops that give us lentils, chickpeas, peas, and beans, and they're great for the soil and our health but terribly fragile when disease strikes. Scientists have been using a tool called CRISPR to snip specific genes in plants so they stop welcoming pathogens in through their own cellular machinery. This review maps out which gene edits have worked in other crops and argues those same edits would likely protect pulses too, giving breeders a concrete shortlist to work from.
Key Findings
CRISPR gene editing has only recently been applied to pulse crops and never yet for disease resistance, representing a significant gap this review aims to close.
Multiple susceptibility genes successfully edited in other plant species are functionally conserved across diverse legumes, suggesting high transferability of resistance traits to pulses.
Phytopathogenic fungi, oomycetes, and bacteria collectively threaten pulse production to the point of crop failure, and current management strategies are insufficient for durable, broad-spectrum control.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers reviewed how CRISPR gene editing could be used to build disease resistance into pulse crops like lentils, chickpeas, and beans, which are currently vulnerable to fungi, water molds, and bacteria with few good management options. They identified specific genes successfully edited in other crop species that are likely to work the same way in pulses, laying out a roadmap for future breeding work.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
CRISPR/Cas-Mediated Gene Editing in Plant Immunity and Its Potential for the Future Development of Fungal, Oomycete, and Bacterial Pathogen-Resistant Pulse Crops.
Pulses provide myriad health benefits and are advantageous in an environmental context as a result of their leguminous nature. However, phytopathogenic fungi, oomycetes and bacteria pose a substant...
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The lentil is an annual legume grown for its lens-shaped edible seeds or pulses, also called lentils. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.