Gene Editing in Rice Using CRISPR-Cas12i3

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences researchers demonstrated the efficacy of CRISPR-Cas12i3 for gene editing in rice. The findings are reported in the Plant Biotechnology Journal.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene editing tool that has revolutionized the field of plant biology. However, it has some limitations, such as the requirement for a specific PAM sequence and the potential for off-target editing. A new tool called CRISPR-Cas12i3 has the potential to overcome some of these limitations because of its broader PAM sequence range and a lower frequency of off-target editing compared to CRISPR-Cas9.

The researchers developed the CRIPSR-Cas12i3-based Multiplex direct repeats (DR)-spacer Array Genome Editing (iMAGE) system and tested it on editing various rice genes. Interestingly, iMAGE also produced chromosomal structural variations with a higher frequency than CRISPR-Cas9. This implies that CRISPR-Cas12i3 could generate new rice varieties with desirable traits, such as resistance to pests and diseases, enhanced drought tolerance, and better yields.