Location: Cereal Disease Lab
Project Number: 5062-21220-025-016-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 31, 2022
End Date: Aug 30, 2025
Objective:
Specific objectives of this project are: 1) Develop a multi-component viral replicon system with large DNA carrying capacity for genome editing in planta;
2) Optimize the system to achieve high efficiency genome modification through homology-directed repair; and 3) Design a simple and high-throughput screening method of infected plants to allow rapid identification of critical plants.
Approach:
The underlying mechanism for generating advantageous variations in the plant genome is through: 1) recombination, 2) mutagenesis, and/or
3) transformation/genome editing. We propose to overcome the limitations of these methods by developing a novel viral vector system to enable rapid and site-specific plant genome modification, adaptable to a multitude of genotypes and species, without tissue culture. Successful completion of this project will lead to a paradigm shift in crop improvement and detailed analysis of plant development. For the first time, this study is aimed at developing a tool that can be used in planta for the desired genetic modifications in multitude of plant species and genotypes.
