PubMed · 2026-05-20
Scientists used CRISPR gene editing to make a fragrant traditional rice variety shorter and sturdier — without reducing grain yield or affecting its distinctive flavor and quality. The tweak works by fine-tuning a natural growth-suppression switch already built into the plant's DNA.
Inserting a single adenine (a DNA building block) into the SD1 gene's control region was enough to significantly reduce plant height by boosting the natural repressive grip of the TCP19 protein.
Edited rice lines maintained equivalent grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency compared to unmodified plants, confirming no productivity trade-off.
Cell-level analysis showed the height reduction came from shorter individual cells in the stem internodes, not fewer cells — a clean, precise phenotypic outcome.
