Enhancing Rice Crop Productivity through Gene Editing Tool

With global food insecurity rising to a precarious level in 2022, scientists have stepped up efforts to perfect best practices to protect yields of key crops that are essential to combating the problem. And although rice makes up a small portion of Missouri’s annual harvest, it—along with corn and soybeans—is a staple helping to tackle food insecurity not just in the United States, but around the world.

In a recent study that examined how diseases work in rice crops, University of Missouri researchers may have found definitive answers.

In the study, Peng Yang, professor of plant biology in the MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, used genome editing as a tool to identify problematic pathogens found in some of the bacteria that lead to prolific infections in rice. crops. His research is helping scientists understand how these pathogens work and, in turn, determine how to protect against widespread infections that destroy crops.

This research provides insight into the host-pathogen relationship, allowing scientists to better genetically engineer plants to survive crop diseases.

“Based on the advances in scientific understanding made during this study, we are now able to develop strategies for engineering host resistance against bacteria,” Yang said. “This is how we can support plant resistance in general.”

First, the research team discovered a way to “knock out” genes. When specific genes are knocked out of bacteria, it allows scientists to better understand the functions of those specific genes. Then the researchers tested the infectious properties—something that historically has been a labor-intensive process.

“This research allows us to better understand which bacteria carry pathogenic traits and how these traits correspond to infection in specific plant species,” Yang said. “Ultimately, these advances in gene modification help us modify the genome of crops, in this case rice, in ways that build up the resistances that protect them from disease.”

Using a revolutionary gene-editing technique called CRISPR — a method in which scientists modify genes by cutting DNA and then allowing it to repair naturally — Yang and his team edited a sample of bacteria with the goal of identifying genes with disease-causing traits that would knock out proteins in a crop’s genome. the rice.

Notably, Yang’s method revolutionized a process known as homologous recombination, which was known to be inefficient and time-consuming.

“My long-term research goal is to better understand disease biology, plant biology, and the process of using advanced technology to engineer disease resistance,” Yang said. “I also want to engineer the produce so that it is more nutritious and in higher quantity while maximizing the season’s yield and minimizing yield loss.”

As a researcher in plant pathology for more than 15 years, Yang said that bacteria, including bacteria with symbiotic (beneficial) and pathogenic qualities, are essential in maintaining life and the health of our ecosystems.

“Active CRISPR-Cas9-based cytosine base releasers for phytopathogenic bacteria” is published in Communication biology.