Protoplast-Based Functional Genomics and Genome Editing: Progress, Challenges and Applications.
Hsieh JA, Wu FH, Yang DX, Wu AE, Liu CA
Summary
PubMedWhy it matters This matters because it could lead to drought- and disease-resistant versions of the fruits, vegetables, and grains you eat — developed faster and with fewer regulatory hurdles than traditional GMO approaches.
Researchers can remove the outer wall of a plant cell to get a bare, open cell they can study or tinker with directly. By reviewing over a thousand scientific papers, this team mapped out how this technique is being used to understand how plants handle stress like drought or disease. Most excitingly, they can now use this approach to edit crop plant genes in a way that leaves no foreign DNA behind — meaning the resulting plants may not be classified as GMOs, making them easier to bring to market.
chevron_right Technical Details
Scientists reviewed over 1,000 studies on a technique that strips plant cell walls to study and edit plant biology at the cellular level. This platform is accelerating the development of stress-tolerant crops using CRISPR gene editing without introducing foreign DNA.
Key Findings
A review of 1,050 published studies was conducted, cataloging research by delivery method, plant species, tissue type, and research focus.
CRISPR gene editing delivered as a protein-RNA complex (no DNA) through stripped plant cells can produce edits with no foreign genetic material remaining — a regulation-friendly approach.
Protoplast fusion — merging cells from two different plants including their chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA — can combine stress-tolerance traits from distantly related species to accelerate crop breeding.
Abstract Preview
Protoplast-based systems provide a powerful and versatile platform for exploring how plants sense and respond to their environment. By enabling the direct delivery of proteins, DNA, and RNA into pl...
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