Vectors are widely used in various experiments, such as gene-editing, gene-overexpression, and protein-protein interaction whether to characterize genes or create novel traits in crops. The classic pCAMBIA vectors have been used by scientists for over 20 years. Other vectors such as TA and Gateway are also used by scientists in the lab, but these vectors have limitations, including difficulty in transferring DNA sequences between vectors.

Researcher Guo-Liang Wang from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues develop a vector toolkit, which include 42 vectors for transient and stable expression experiments in rice. They analyzed recognition sites in rice coding sequences and developed a universal multiple cloning site that can be applied to more than 99 percent of rice coding sequences. They tested these vectors in several assays such as CRISPR-Cas9 mediated editing of rice plants and obtained high editing efficiencies.

For more information, read the article in Rice.