Genome editing technology offers new opportunities for plant genetic improvement. However, editing agriculturally relevant crops remains a challenge due to frequent recalcitrance during conventional in vitro tissue-culture-based regeneration processes. Typically, novel edited variants are generated in non-elite “transformable” varieties that are amenable to transformation and then introgressed into the target commercial elite varieties by several generations of backcrossing. This process is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for a platform that allows gene editing directly in elite lines. Recently, there has been significant progress in this area, including the use of morphogenic factors, such as BBM-WUS, to promote regeneration and transformation in several monocot species. Another is the use of genotype-independent haploid induction to introduce the editing machinery across a wider range of germplasm. However, the use of BBM-WUS technology has so far only been demonstrated in crops with embryogenic regeneration system. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the use of other morphogenic factors and genes involved in plant regeneration. Further advances in transformation technology have come from improved delivery methods. For example, progress has been made in direct in planta delivery with viral vectors, nanoparticles, and biolistic bombardment of shoot meristems. Recently, transient delivery of editing machinery through haploid induction has also been used to enable genome modification in diverse germplasm.
Subjects welcomed in this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
1) Transformation mediated by morphogenic factors
2) Transformation and editing with viral vector delivery systems
3) Meristem and in planta transformation
4) Transformation and editing with nanoparticle and haploid induction system
Genome editing technology offers new opportunities for plant genetic improvement. However, editing agriculturally relevant crops remains a challenge due to frequent recalcitrance during conventional in vitro tissue-culture-based regeneration processes. Typically, novel edited variants are generated in non-elite “transformable” varieties that are amenable to transformation and then introgressed into the target commercial elite varieties by several generations of backcrossing. This process is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for a platform that allows gene editing directly in elite lines. Recently, there has been significant progress in this area, including the use of morphogenic factors, such as BBM-WUS, to promote regeneration and transformation in several monocot species. Another is the use of genotype-independent haploid induction to introduce the editing machinery across a wider range of germplasm. However, the use of BBM-WUS technology has so far only been demonstrated in crops with embryogenic regeneration system. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the use of other morphogenic factors and genes involved in plant regeneration. Further advances in transformation technology have come from improved delivery methods. For example, progress has been made in direct in planta delivery with viral vectors, nanoparticles, and biolistic bombardment of shoot meristems. Recently, transient delivery of editing machinery through haploid induction has also been used to enable genome modification in diverse germplasm.
Subjects welcomed in this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
1) Transformation mediated by morphogenic factors
2) Transformation and editing with viral vector delivery systems
3) Meristem and in planta transformation
4) Transformation and editing with nanoparticle and haploid induction system