1
|
Spencer KP, Burger JT, Campa M. CRISPR-based resistance to grapevine virus A. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1296251. [PMID: 38111883 PMCID: PMC10725905 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1296251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is an important fruit crop which contributes significantly to the agricultural sector worldwide. Grapevine viruses are widespread and cause serious diseases which impact the quality and quantity of crop yields. More than 80 viruses plague grapevine, with RNA viruses constituting the largest of these. A recent extension to the clustered regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) armory is the Cas13 effector, which exclusively targets single-strand RNA. CRISPR/Cas has been implemented as a defense mechanism in plants, against both DNA and RNA viruses, by being programmed to directly target and cleave the viral genomes. The efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas tool in plants is dependent on efficient delivery of its components into plant cells. Methods To this end, the aim of this study was to use the recent Cas13d variant from Ruminococcus flavefaciens (CasRx) to target the RNA virus, grapevine virus A (GVA). GVA naturally infects grapevine, but can infect the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana, making it a helpful model to study virus infection in grapevine. gRNAs were designed against the coat protein (CP) gene of GVA. N. benthamiana plants expressing CasRx were co-infiltrated with GVA, and with a tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-gRNA expression vector, harbouring a CP gRNA. Results and discussion Results indicated more consistent GVA reductions, specifically gRNA CP-T2, which demonstrated a significant negative correlation with GVA accumulation, as well as multiple gRNA co-infiltrations which similarly showed reduced GVA titre. By establishing a virus-targeting defense system in plants, efficient virus interference mechanisms can be established and applied to major crops, such as grapevine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Manuela Campa
- Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ahmar S, Hensel G, Gruszka D. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing techniques and new breeding strategies in cereals - current status, improvements, and perspectives. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 69:108248. [PMID: 37666372 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Cereal crops, including triticeae species (barley, wheat, rye), as well as edible cereals (wheat, corn, rice, oat, rye, sorghum), are significant suppliers for human consumption, livestock feed, and breweries. Over the past half-century, modern varieties of cereal crops with increased yields have contributed to global food security. However, presently cultivated elite crop varieties were developed mainly for optimal environmental conditions. Thus, it has become evident that taking into account the ongoing climate changes, currently a priority should be given to developing new stress-tolerant cereal cultivars. It is necessary to enhance the accuracy of methods and time required to generate new cereal cultivars with the desired features to adapt to climate change and keep up with the world population expansion. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been developed as a powerful and versatile genome editing tool to achieve desirable traits, such as developing high-yielding, stress-tolerant, and disease-resistant transgene-free lines in major cereals. Despite recent advances, the CRISPR/Cas9 application in cereals faces several challenges, including a significant amount of time required to develop transgene-free lines, laboriousness, and a limited number of genotypes that may be used for the transformation and in vitro regeneration. Additionally, developing elite lines through genome editing has been restricted in many countries, especially Europe and New Zealand, due to a lack of flexibility in GMO regulations. This review provides a comprehensive update to researchers interested in improving cereals using gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPR/Cas9. We will review some critical and recent studies on crop improvements and their contributing factors to superior cereals through gene-editing technologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sunny Ahmar
- Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
| | - Goetz Hensel
- Centre for Plant Genome Engineering, Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany; Centre of Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Damian Gruszka
- Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cisneros AE, Martín-García T, Primc A, Kuziuta W, Sánchez-Vicente J, Aragonés V, Daròs JA, Carbonell A. Transgene-free, virus-based gene silencing in plants by artificial microRNAs derived from minimal precursors. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:10719-10736. [PMID: 37713607 PMCID: PMC10602918 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) are highly specific, 21-nucleotide (nt) small RNAs designed to silence target transcripts. In plants, their application as biotechnological tools for functional genomics or crop improvement is limited by the need of transgenically expressing long primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) precursors to produce the amiRNAs in vivo. Here, we analyzed the minimal structural and sequence requirements for producing effective amiRNAs from the widely used, 521-nt long AtMIR390a pri-miRNA from Arabidopsis thaliana. We functionally screened in Nicotiana benthamiana a large collection of constructs transiently expressing amiRNAs against endogenous genes and from artificially shortened MIR390-based precursors and concluded that highly effective and accurately processed amiRNAs can be produced from a chimeric precursor of only 89 nt. This minimal precursor was further validated in A. thaliana transgenic plants expressing amiRNAs against endogenous genes. Remarkably, minimal but not full-length precursors produce authentic amiRNAs and induce widespread gene silencing in N. benthamiana when expressed from an RNA virus, which can be applied into leaves by spraying infectious crude extracts. Our results reveal that the length of amiRNA precursors can be shortened without affecting silencing efficacy, and that viral vectors including minimal amiRNA precursors can be applied in a transgene-free manner to induce whole-plant gene silencing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adriana E Cisneros
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Tamara Martín-García
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Anamarija Primc
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Wojtek Kuziuta
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Javier Sánchez-Vicente
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Verónica Aragonés
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - José-Antonio Daròs
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Alberto Carbonell
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València, Av. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Uranga M, Aragonés V, Daròs JA, Pasin F. Heritable CRISPR-Cas9 editing of plant genomes using RNA virus vectors. STAR Protoc 2023; 4:102091. [PMID: 36853698 PMCID: PMC9943877 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Viral vectors hold enormous potential for genome editing in plants as transient delivery vehicles of CRISPR-Cas components. Here, we describe a protocol to assemble plant viral vectors for single-guide RNA (sgRNA) delivery. The obtained viral constructs are based on compact T-DNA binary vectors of the pLX series and are delivered into Cas9-expressing plants through agroinoculation. This approach allows rapidly assessing sgRNA design for plant genome targeting, as well as the recovery of progeny with heritable mutations at targeted loci. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Uranga et al. (2021)1 and Aragonés et al. (2022).2.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Uranga
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universitat Politècnica de València, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
| | - Verónica Aragonés
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universitat Politècnica de València, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
| | - José-Antonio Daròs
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universitat Politècnica de València, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
| | - Fabio Pasin
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universitat Politècnica de València, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Guo G, Li MJ, Lai JL, Du ZY, Liao QS. Development of tobacco rattle virus-based platform for dual heterologous gene expression and CRISPR/Cas reagent delivery. Plant Sci 2022; 325:111491. [PMID: 36216296 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A large number of viral delivery systems have been developed for characterizing functional genes and producing heterologous recombinant proteins in plants, and but most of them are unable to co-express two fusion-free foreign proteins in the whole plant for extended periods of time. In this study, we modified tobacco rattle virus (TRV) as a TRVe dual delivery vector, using the strategy of gene substitution. The reconstructed TRVe had the capability to simultaneously produce two fusion-free foreign proteins at the whole level of Nicotiana benthamiana, and maintained the genetic stability for the insert of double foreign genes. Moreover, TRVe allowed systemic expression of two foreign proteins with the total lengths up to ∼900 aa residues. In addition, Cas12a protein and crRNA were delivered by the TRVe expression system for site-directed editing of genomic DNA in N. benthamiana 16c line constitutively expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Taker together, the TRV-based delivery system will be a simple and powerful means to rapidly co-express two non-fused foreign proteins at the whole level and facilitate functional genomics studies in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ge Guo
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
| | - Meng-Jiao Li
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
| | - Jia-Liang Lai
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
| | - Zhi-You Du
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
| | - Qian-Sheng Liao
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Yue J, Wei Y, Sun Z, Chen Y, Wei X, Wang H, Pasin F, Zhao M. AlkB RNA demethylase homologues and N 6 -methyladenosine are involved in Potyvirus infection. Mol Plant Pathol 2022; 23:1555-1564. [PMID: 35700092 PMCID: PMC9452765 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Proteins of the alkylation B (AlkB) superfamily show RNA demethylase activity removing methyl adducts from N6 -methyladenosine (m6 A). m6 A is a reversible epigenetic mark of RNA that regulates human virus replication but has unclear roles in plant virus infection. We focused on Potyvirus-the largest genus of plant RNA viruses-and report here the identification of AlkB domains within P1 of endive necrotic mosaic virus (ENMV) and an additional virus of a putative novel species within Potyvirus. We show that Nicotiana benthamiana m6 A levels are reduced by infection of plum pox virus (PPV) and potato virus Y (PVY). The two potyviruses lack AlkB and the results suggest a general involvement of RNA methylation in potyvirus infection and evolution. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing of virus-infected samples showed that m6 A peaks are enriched in plant transcript 3' untranslated regions and in discrete internal and 3' terminal regions of PPV and PVY genomes. Down-regulation of N. benthamiana AlkB homologues of the plant-specific ALKBH9 clade caused a significant decrease in PPV and PVY accumulation. In summary, our study provides evolutionary and experimental evidence that supports the m6 A implication and the proviral roles of AlkB homologues in Potyvirus infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jianying Yue
- College of Horticulture and Plant ProtectionInner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityHohhotChina
| | - Yao Wei
- College of Horticulture and Plant ProtectionInner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityHohhotChina
| | - Zhenqi Sun
- College of Horticulture and Plant ProtectionInner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityHohhotChina
| | - Yahan Chen
- College of Plant ProtectionGansu Agricultural UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Xuefeng Wei
- Development of Fine ChemicalsGuizhou UniversityGuizhouChina
| | - Haijuan Wang
- College of Horticulture and Plant ProtectionInner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityHohhotChina
| | - Fabio Pasin
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas—Universitat Politècnica de València (CSIC‐UPV)ValenciaSpain
- School of ScienceUniversity of PaduaPaduaItaly
| | - Mingmin Zhao
- College of Horticulture and Plant ProtectionInner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityHohhotChina
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Pasin F. Assembly of plant virus agroinfectious clones using biological material or DNA synthesis. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101716. [PMID: 36149792 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious clone technology is universally applied for biological characterization and engineering of viruses. This protocol describes procedures that implement synthetic biology advances for streamlined assembly of virus infectious clones. Here, I detail homology-based cloning using biological material, as well as SynViP assembly using type IIS restriction enzymes and chemically synthesized DNA fragments. The assembled virus clones are based on compact T-DNA binary vectors of the pLX series and are delivered to host plants by Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Pasin et al. (2017, 2018) and Pasin (2021).
Collapse
|
8
|
Kapusi E, Cong L, Stoger E. Editorial: CRISPR and alternative approaches. Biotechnol J 2022; 17:e2200290. [PMID: 35726663 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202200290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eszter Kapusi
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology (DAGZ), Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology (IPBT), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Le Cong
- Department of Pathology, Department of Genetics, Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Eva Stoger
- Department of Pathology, Department of Genetics, Wu Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|