Zufan Chen , Dapeng Zhang

Hier Rice Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Genomics and Applied Biology, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 4   
Received: 27 May, 2024    Accepted: 03 Jul., 2024    Published: 19 Jul., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The study demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is highly efficient in rice, with nearly half of the target genes edited in the first generation of transformed plants (T0). The mutations were found to be heritable, following classic Mendelian inheritance patterns, with no detectable large-scale off-target effects. Additionally, the CRISPR/Cas9 system enabled high-efficiency multiplex genome editing, allowing for the simultaneous targeting of multiple genes, which is crucial for improving complex traits such as yield. The use of CRISPR/Cas9 has also been shown to enhance grain quality and other agronomic traits, making it a versatile tool for rice improvement. The findings underscore the potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 system as a powerful and precise tool for rice genome engineering. By enabling targeted and heritable gene modifications with minimal off-target effects, CRISPR/Cas9 can significantly contribute to the development of rice varieties with superior yield traits. This technology holds promise for addressing global food security challenges by improving rice productivity and quality.

CRISPR/Cas9; Genome editing; Rice improvement; Yield traits; Heritability; Multiplex genome editing; Grain quality