CRISPR Produces Disease-resistant Cacao Plants

A research team at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) reported the successful development of disease-resistant cacao plants using gene editing. This breakthrough, published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, provides a solution to one of the biggest problems of the global chocolate industry—the black pod disease caused by a species of Phytophthora.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, the researchers edited a gene called TcNPR3, which is involved in the plant's defense system in cacao plants. This resulted in 42% smaller disease lesions, compared with the non-edited cacao plants.

“Cacao farmers, particularly those with limited economic resources, struggle to implement expensive disease-control measures,” said Mark Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and first author on the study. “Our research team targeted the gene TcNPR3 because we learned from earlier studies that it acts as a molecular ‘brake' on the plant's natural defense system,” he added.

The researchers highlighted the significance of their study, which is producing cacao plants with the desired genetic improvements, without any transgenic elements, thus establishing a vital regulatory precedent for other crops.

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