Potential application and current achievements of CRISPR/Cas in rice

Abstract

CRISPR/Cas is a novel technique in editing a specific region of DNA. It has been applied in many organisms and has gained great achievements, especially in rice which is one of the main crops supplying food for 50% of population in the world. Based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology, a study successfully generated a variety of TIFY1 mutant lines with some desirable changes in the cold-tolerant gene. In addition, the rice blast resistance was improved after editing the target gene OsERF922. The Acetolactate Synthase 1 (ALS1), one of the core enzymes involving herbicide resistance of rice could also be edited using CRISPR/Cas9 system. The effectiveness of CRISPR/Cas was successfully proved through many other genes in rice. Therefore, this technique can be applied in rice to produce high yield, high-quality rice varieties which are strongly tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses.