Gene editing could give apple trees natural disease immunity
Rahman MU, Bai S, Khamdullaev SA, Aytenov ISU, Hou H
Crispr
If you've ever grown an apple tree and watched its leaves develop dark blotchy spots by midsummer, that's likely this exact disease, and breeders are closing in on varieties that shrug it off.
Apple trees around the world get hit by a disease called Glomerella leaf spot, caused by fungi that damage leaves and cost growers a lot of money every year. Researchers reviewed what's known about how this fungus attacks apple trees and how the trees defend themselves, aiming to use that knowledge to breed tougher varieties. Tools like CRISPR gene editing let scientists tweak an apple tree's own genes to boost its natural resistance, rather than inserting foreign DNA.
Key Findings
Glomerella leaf spot is caused by Colletotrichum fungal species and causes significant annual economic losses to global apple production
Breeding strategies have progressed from conventional selection to marker-assisted selection and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing
CRISPR/Cas9-edited apple crops are not classified as transgenic, offering a regulatory advantage for developing resistant cultivars
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists are decoding how a fungus-like pathogen causes Glomerella leaf spot in apples and using that knowledge, plus gene-editing tools like CRISPR, to breed apple trees that can resist the disease without being classified as genetically modified organisms.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Molecular insights and integrated management of Glomerella leaf spot in apple.
Apple (Malus × domestica) is one of the world's premier fruit crops. Apple Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) is caused by Colletotrichum spp., jeopardizing global apple supply and incurring millions of do...
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An apple is the round, edible fruit of an apple tree. Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple, the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of ...