Engineering high yield basmati rice by editing multiple negative regulators of yield.

Area of Science:

• Plant Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Basmati rice yield improvement is crucial for global food security.
• Traditional breeding methods for yield enhancement are time-consuming.
• Specific genes (OsD27, OsGW2, OsTGW6, OsGN1a) negatively regulate key yield components in rice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a multiplex genome editing system in Super Basmati rice.
• To investigate the combined effect of editing four yield-related genes.
• To enhance yield in elite Basmati varieties.

Main Methods:

• Generated Super Basmati quadruple edited lines using CRISPR-Cas9 polycistronic tRNA-gRNA (PTG) system.
• Simultaneously edited OsD27, OsGW2, OsTGW6, and OsGN1a genes.
• Characterized edited lines for yield parameters and cooking quality.

Main Results:

• Quadruple edited plants showed increased tillers, grain number, and grain weight.
• Additive gene effects significantly boosted Super Basmati yield.
• Demonstrated a 30% co-editing efficiency for rapid generation of superior alleles.

Conclusions:

• Multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 editing of yield-negative regulators effectively enhances Basmati rice yield.
• The tRNA-gRNA multiplexing system efficiently edits multiple genes in Basmati rice.
• This approach offers a rapid method for pyramiding beneficial alleles and developing high-yielding rice germplasm.