Selective breeding for desirable traits in maize may be rapidly speeded up, thanks to the development of a new genetic approach by researchers in Belgium.
The so-called BREEDIT system uses gene editing to produce large collections of mutants, which can then be selected from depending on traits of interest, such as yield and drought resistance.
In the study, scientists produced over 1000 gene-edited plants which displayed an average increase of 5-10% in leaf length and up to 20% in leaf width compared with unedited controls.
Speedy production of genetic material
The approach uses the CRISPR-Cas9 nine gene editing system, which has a wide variety of possible applications across biological sciences – not least in agriculture. The novel pipeline means that a large suite of promising genes for breeding programs are rapidly available.
Gene edits created by the system result in what the scientists describe as “scripts”, which can be built upon to increase the strength of traits expressed in the maize plants.
The breeding system does require some refinements, however, they suggested. These include being able to understand complex genetic interactions, and proving the ability to transform and regenerate what they describe as “elite materials” – parts of the genome linked to desirable traits.
Overcoming traditional breeding “tedium”
The traditional approach for plant breeding involves screening a large variety of materials including wild species, landraces and commercial varieties of crops. The discovery of useful mutations, which have promising traits in the field, are then followed by the creation of materials that breeders can use to create new varieties.
The novel approach, devised by geneticists across a number of academic institutions, can rapidly speed up what is a “long and tedious process,” they said.
“We foresee a large potential for BREEDIT combined with existing and more recent breeding approaches, such as marker-assisted breeding, haploid induction, and genomic selection,” they added.
You can read the full research report in the journal Plant Cell.
