The turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), a potyvirus, has severely threatened Chinese cabbage crops. Existing research suggests that the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF) genes, such as eIF(iso)4E, play a pivotal role in TuMV resistance in Arabidopsis.
Researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique on the Chinese cabbage, specifically the Brassica rapa cultivar “Seoul,” to develop plants that are TuMV resistant.
They detected several heritable indel mutations in the edited T0 plants and developed T1 through generational progression. It was indicated in the sequence analysis of the eIF(iso)4E-edited T1 plants that the mutations were transferred to succeeding generations. These edited T1 plants conferred resistance to TuMV. When inoculated with TuMV, wild-type plants displayed clear virus symptoms within a week, while the edited plants showed resistance.
Ye-Rin Lee et al. (2023) CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing to confer turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) resistance in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), Horticulture Research 10 (6), uhad078, https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhad078
Source: Biotech Updates
