Major CRISPR Breakthrough for First-Ever Regeneration of Strawberries from Gene-edited Single Cells

Hudson River Biotechnology (HRB), an independent technology provider based in Wageningen, The Netherlands, announced a milestone achievement with the world's first successful regeneration of strawberry plants from gene-edited single cells using its proprietary CRISPR workflow called TiGER.

The global berry sector has shifted focus to quality. Traditionally, breeding strawberry fruit for quality and disease resistance has been a lengthy process due to the fruit's genetic complexity. Strawberries have eight sets of chromosomes as compared to the two sets that humans have, significantly complicating conventional breeding efforts. Gene editing technology offers a promising solution for quickly introducing desired genetic traits into strawberries. The industry previously lacked an effective gene editing workflow that does not introduce foreign DNA or lead to plants with inconsistently edited cells (chimeras)– until now.

In response to this global challenge, HRB's TiGER workflow offers a solution. It generates new plant varieties derived from a single, gene-edited cell, and includes automated screening for thousands of regeneration conditions to identify the right combination for each crop/variety, and it is proven to be both a scalable and effective method for fast-tracking the market introduction of valuable traits for different crops. The HRB's R&D team marked a world-first for strawberry, a notoriously recalcitrant crop, and finally unlocks the potential for rapidly improving fruit flavor, nutritional value, and sustainability.

For more details, read the article on the HRB website.