CRISPR-CAS9 USED TO KNOCK OUT GENES IN ROBUSTA COFFEE
CRISPR-CAS9 USED TO KNOCK OUT GENES IN ROBUSTA COFFEE
Scientists Jean-Christophe Breitler from French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development and colleagues developed a web tool to identify all gRNA target sequences in the robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) genome, along with potential off-target sites.
After identifying gRNA target sequences, they applied CRISPR in robusta coffee by targeting the phytoene desaturase gene (CcPDS) using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Analysis of the transformants revealed that about 30% of the regenerated plants contained mutations. Mutation efficiency at the target site was estimated to be 30.4%.
Genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be an efficient and reliable way of knocking out genes of interest in the robusta coffee tree.
