PubMed · 2026-05-12
Scientists used a plant virus as a delivery vehicle for CRISPR gene-editing tools in barley, achieving heritable mutations passed to offspring without traditional tissue culture. The same approach failed to produce heritable edits in tobacco plants, revealing that germline transmission is host-dependent.
A viral vector using a duplicated promoter region achieved up to 90% gene-editing efficiency in tobacco plants at 60 days post-inoculation — the highest of five designs tested.
In barley, the system induced heritable mutations at frequencies up to 100%, producing virus-free edited offspring without any tissue culture step.
In Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco), robust edits occurred in plant tissue but zero heritable mutations were detected in progeny, revealing a host-specific barrier to germline transmission.
