gene-copy-number

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Fine-tuning quantitative agronomic traits by manipulating gene copy number in rice.

PubMed · 2026-05-13

Scientists precisely controlled how many copies of a single gene a rice plant carries, and found that more copies meant incrementally better crop traits — offering a new way to fine-tune yield and quality without random mutation.

Rice lines were engineered to carry 1, 2, or 3 tandem copies of the OsMADS18 gene using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.

Each additional gene copy produced a stepwise increase in gene activity (transcript levels), confirming a direct dose-response relationship.

Higher gene copy numbers correlated with measurable improvements in quantitative agronomic traits, demonstrating copy number as a tunable breeding lever.

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