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Enhancing grain-yield-related traits by CRISPR-Cas9 promoter editing of maize CLE genes
Lei Liu1, Joseph Gallagher2, Edgar Demesa Arevalo1
1Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Several yield-related traits selected during crop domestication and improvement1,2 are associated with increases in meristem size3, which is controlled by CLE peptide signals in the CLAVATA-WUSCHEL pathway4-13. Here, we engineered quantitative variation for yield-related traits in maize by making weak promoter alleles of CLE genes, and a null allele of a newly identified partially redundant compensating CLE gene, using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. These strategies increased multiple maize grain-yield-related traits, supporting the enormous potential for genomic editing in crop enhancement.
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