High-Density CRISPR/Cas12a-Mediated Multiplex Genome Editing Reveals Genome Instability in Allotetraploid Cotton

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a major natural fiber crop and an important model for studying genome evolution and gene function in polyploid plants. However, its large and highly redundant genome presents substantial challenges for efficient and coordinated multiplex genome editing.

Here, we developed a high-efficiency CRISPR/Cas12a-based multiplex genome editing system in cotton by integrating a tRNA-crRNA polycistronic expression strategy with a Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV)-derived replicon.

This platform enabled coordinated expression of multiple crRNAs and simultaneous targeting of 16 loci within a centromere-proximal region of chromosome D03 (18.65-24.47 Mb). In individual transgenic lines, up to 10 target sites were edited concurrently, with nine targets exhibiting editing efficiencies above 56% and the highest efficiency reaching 96.46%. High-density multiplex editing predominantly induced small insertions and deletions at target loci. Notably, edited plants exhibited reduced growth and pronounced cytological abnormalities, including chromosome bridges, lagging chromosomes, and abnormal meiotic products. Transcriptome analysis revealed widespread dysregulation of genes involved in chromosome segregation and cell cycle regulation. Despite these functional perturbations, HiFi long-read sequencing detected no large-scale chromosomal rearrangements, indicating that genome instability arises from cumulative local perturbations rather than global structural alterations.

Together, our results establish an efficient multiplex genome editing platform in cotton and highlight potential constraints of high-density editing on genome stability in complex plant genomes.