PubMed · 2026-05-20
Scientists built a more powerful version of CRISPR for rice that can edit many genes at once with greater precision and efficiency. By fusing a DNA-chewing protein to the editing tool and using the plant's own RNA machinery as a guide, the system outperforms previous approaches and could speed up breeding of crops with multiple improved traits simultaneously.
The TREX2-SpCas9 fusion protein produced higher editing efficiency and larger DNA deletions than standard SpCas9 or other exonuclease-fused versions tested.
Screening 38 endogenous rice tRNA genes identified 13 high-performing candidates that can reliably process multiple guide RNAs from a single genetic construct.
Combining the TREX2-SpCas9 fusion with the optimized tRNA array achieved high-efficiency simultaneous editing across multiple genomic loci in rice.
