Methylviologen resistance in loss-of-function mutants of the polyamine transporter gene OsLAT5.
Schenstnyi K, Zhang Z, Liu B, Nakamura M, Schepler-Luu V
Crispr
PubMedFaster, cleaner gene-editing tools mean the rice on your plate could be bred to withstand droughts, pests, or climate shifts more efficiently and with fewer unwanted genetic side effects.
Scientists are constantly trying to improve crops like rice using a molecular scissors tool called CRISPR. The tricky part is figuring out which plants actually got the edit — traditionally they use marker genes that can be unreliable. This study found that knocking out one specific gene in rice makes the seeds and seedlings survive exposure to a toxic chemical that would normally kill them, acting as a clean, built-in signal that the edit worked.
Key Findings
Loss of the OsLAT5 gene alone (out of three tested candidates) was sufficient to confer methylviologen resistance in rice seeds, seedlings, and tissue cultures.
Three rice gene targets were tested using CRISPR/Cas9 — OsLAT1, OsLAT5, and OsLAT7 — but only OsLAT5 knockouts showed the desired resistance trait.
The lat5 loss-of-function mutation can function as a selectable marker at the seed germination stage, potentially replacing conventional antibiotic or herbicide resistance marker genes that occupy valuable T-DNA space.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers discovered that disabling a specific gene in rice called OsLAT5 makes the plant resistant to a common herbicide-like chemical, methylviologen. This finding offers a simpler, more reliable way to identify successfully gene-edited rice plants during crop improvement work.
Abstract Preview
TALENs and CRISPR/Cas have become routine tools for genome editing. During stable plant transformation, genes coding for editing enzymes, e.g., Cas9, guide RNAs (gRNA), and selectable or screenable...
open_in_new Read full abstract on PubMedAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa —or, much less commonly, Oryza glaberrima. Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 y...