Prime editing: a new frontier in precision genome engineering for rice improvement

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Rice is a vital global food source threatened by climate change and stresses.
• Traditional breeding and early genome editing have limitations like off-target effects and dependence on double-stranded breaks (DSBs).
• Prime editing (PE) offers precise DNA modifications without DSBs or donor DNA, with reduced off-target activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evolution of prime editing systems (PE1 to PEmax).
• To highlight innovations enhancing PE efficiency and applicability in plants.
• To discuss PE applications in rice improvement and future prospects.

Main Methods:

• Review of prime editing system evolution and innovations.
• Analysis of recent advances in pegRNA engineering, mismatch repair modulation, and editor architecture.
• Examination of prime editing applications in rice for trait enhancement.

Main Results:

• Prime editing systems have evolved significantly, with innovations improving efficiency and applicability in plants.
• PE has been successfully applied to enhance rice grain quality (Waxy gene), engineer resistance (bacterial blight, herbicide), improve heat resilience, and restore nutritional traits.
• Advanced PE platforms like twinPE and PASTE show future potential.

Conclusions:

• Prime editing is a transformative genome editing platform for rice improvement.
• PE enables the development of climate-resilient, high-yield, and nutritionally enhanced rice varieties.
• Addressing challenges in efficiency, delivery, scalability, biosafety, and genetic stability is crucial for PE's future.