Enhanced CRISPR method enables stable insertion of large genes into the DNA of higher plants

Scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) have succeeded for the first time in stably and precisely inserting large gene segments into the DNA of higher plants very efficiently. To do this, they optimized the gene-editing method CRISPR/Cas, commonly known as "genetic scissors."

The improved CRISPR method offers great opportunities for the targeted modification of genes in higher plants, both for breeding and research.

This experimental approach was then tested with other genes to be incorporated and in other plants, namely thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) and wheat. Since the gene insertion in the tobacco plants took place only locally in the leaves, the integrated gene was lost in the next daughter generation and was therefore only present in the genome for a limited time.

Optimized CRISPR/Cas method is a promising tool for the targeted insertion of genes into higher plants and possibly also into other organisms. In the future, plant breeders could use this method, for example, to reintroduce lost resistance genes against pathogens from wild species or old cultivated varieties into modern, high-yielding elite varieties.

Image source: Tom Schreiber, IPB, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, IPB.