Crop Biotech Update

Base Editing of GhTFL1 Creates Ideal Cotton Plant Architecture

February 28, 2024

CRISPR-Cas-derived base editors offer precise gene editing, enabling major advances in basic research and crop improvement. However, their efficiency remains variable between target sites. Scientists from Huazhong Agricultural University and partners developed highly efficient base editors for cotton plants. Fusing GhABE8e to conventional nCas9 achieved 99.9% editing efficiency with no detectable off-target effects. Additionally, replacing nCas9 with dCpf1 broadened the range of editable target sites.

To investigate the function of TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1), the team edited its non-coding and coding regions with 26 targets, generating 300 independent cotton lines. This revealed TFL1's pleiotropic roles, enabling rapid domestication and the creation of ideal cotton plants: moderately sized with shortened branches, compact form, and early flowering.

The findings of the study establish an essential platform and genetic data for developing crops with ideal plant architecture.

Find more results in Genome Biology.


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