Abstract Detail

Crops and Wild Relatives

Pisias, Michael [1], An, Hong [1], Yuan, Yuxiang [2], Mabry, Makenzie [3], Hurt, Sarah [4], Pires, Joseph [5].

Developing De novo domestication in Brassica.

We need novel crop improvement methods to adapt to climate change. Traditional plant breeding is the current standard for crop improvement; however, it can take years of development and many generations of plants to see results. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing allows for the rapid development of improved crops. De novo domestication uses this approach to develop novel crops from wild relatives of current crop species. The advantage of de novo domestication is that new crops start with the wild plant’s resilience to climate change. Unlike present day crop plant’s that often require high inputs of water, fertilizer, and pesticides, crop wild relatives have natural resistance to salinity, drought, and pests. Establishing a functional genome editing platform in the wild relatives of crop species would open the door for developing novel crops. Species which contain multiple cultivars lend themselves to de novo domestication due to the multitude of differentially expressed genes required for such a high level of diversity. Within Brassica oleracea there are over 22 cultivars (e.g., cabbage, kale, cauliflower) that provide a plethora of genes to target in wild relatives. As proof of concept for developing de novo domestication in a wild Brassica relative, we are targeting the Curly Leaf Gene (CLF). CLF is a homeotic selector gene which will transform a naturally flat leaf to a curly leaf phenotype. After development of efficient genome editing for one gene, we will optimize multiplexing multiple targets into a single CRISPR construct as develop a de novo domestication platform for Brassica.

1 - University of Missouri, Division of Biological Sciences, Bond Life Sciences Center, Columbia, MO, USA
2 - Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Horticulture, P.R. China
3 - University Of Missouri, Biological Sciences, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65201, United States
4 - Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo, USA
5 - University Of Missouri, 371 Bond Life Sciences Center, 1201 Rollins Street, Columbia, MO, 65211, United States

Keywords:
De novo domestication
Brassica
CRISPR
Brassica oleracea
crop wild relatives.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Crops and Wild Relatives Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM Time and date to be determined
Number: PCW002
Abstract ID:796
Candidate for Awards:None