Khanh, T. D. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2023

Generation of Parthenocarpy tomato on multiple commercial cultivars utilizing CRIPR/Cas9 system

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important crops in the world for its fruit production. Advances in cutting-edge techniques have enabled the development of numerous critical traits related to the quality and quantity of tomatoes. Genetic engineering techniques, such as gene transformation and gene editing, have emerged as powerful tools for generating new plant varieties with superior traits. In this study, we induced parthenocarpic traits in a population of elite tomato (ET) lines. At first, the adaptability of ET lines to genetic transformation was evaluated to identify the best-performing lines by transforming the SlANT1 gene overexpression cassette and then later used to produce the SlIAA9 knockout lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. ET5 and ET8 emerged as excellent materials for these techniques and showed higher efficiency. Typical phenotypes of knockout sliaa9 were clearly visible in G0 and G1 plants, in which simple leaves and parthenocarpic fruits were observed. The high efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in developing new tomato varieties with desired traits in a short period was demonstrated by generating T-DNA-free homozygous sliaa9 knockout plants in the G1 generation. Additionally, a simple artificial fertilization method was successfully applied to recover seed production from parthenocarpic plants, securing the use of these varieties as breeding materials.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Identifying genomic regions and candidate genes selected during the breeding of rice in Vietnam

Background and aimsVietnam harnesses a rich diversity of rice landraces adapted to a broad range of conditions, which constitute a largely untapped source of genetic diversity for the continuous improvement of rice cultivars. We previously identified a strong population structure in Vietnamese rice, which is captured in five Indica and four Japonica subpopulations, including an outlying Indica-5 group. Here, we leveraged on that strong differentiation, and the 672 rice genomes generated, to identify genes within genomic regions putatively selected during domestication and breeding of rice in Vietnam. MethodologyWe identified significant distorted patterns in allele frequency (XP-CLR method) and population differentiation scores (FST), resulting from differential selective pressures between native subpopulations, and compared them with QTLs previously identified by GWAS in the same panel. We particularly focused on the outlying Indica-5 subpopulation because of its likely novelty and differential evolution. ResultsWe identified selection signatures in each of the Vietnamese subpopulations and carried out a comprehensive annotation of the 52 regions selected in Indica-5, which represented 8.1% of the rice genome. We annotated the 4,576 genes in these regions, verified the overlap with QTLs identified in the same diversity panel and the comparison with a FST analysis between subpopulations, to select sixty-five candidate genes as promising breeding targets, several of which harboured alleles with non-synonymous substitutions. ConclusionsOur results highlight genomic differences between traditional Vietnamese landraces, which are likely the product of adaption to multiple environmental conditions and regional culinary preferences in a very diverse country. We also verified the applicability of this genome scanning approach to identify potential regions harbouring novel loci and alleles to breed a new generation of sustainable and resilient rice. Key MessageWe localised regions in the rice genome selected during breeding by comparing allele frequency patterns among Vietnamese rice subpopulations. We characterised candidate genes in the Indica-5 subpopulation with breeding potential.

plant biology↗