Volume 188, Issue 4, April 2022

The tremendous progress of high-throughput methods has brought genome editing into a high-throughput era, which provide great convenience for deciphering gene function and molecular design breeding.

Growing knowledge about crop domestication, combined with increasingly powerful gene-editing toolkits, sets the stage for the continual domestication of crop wild relatives and other lesser-known plant species.

New technologies enable efficient isolation of target gene-edited plants without any transgene residuals.

Heritable plant chromosome engineering can be achieved in somatic cells using CRISPR/Cas to induce nonhomologous double-strand break repair pathways.

Introduction

The latest developments in CRISPR/Cas-mediated homology-directed repair technology for plants are summarized, with a focus on achievements, challenges, and future utility in crop improvement.

Recent advances in optimizing base editors and prime editors facilitate plant research and precision crop breeding.

Recently discovered and characterized clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated (CRISPR–Cas) systems allow additional applications to plant genome editing.

Direct delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins into the shoot apical meristem via particle bombardment enabled introduction of a semidwarf1-orthologous mutation into an elite wheat variety.

An integrated transgene-free multiplex gene-editing toolkit based on the Transgene Killer CRISPR technology greatly saves labor, time, and cost.

A low seed glucosinolate resource was developed in polyploid B. napus using a method that identifies the functions of genes with rare or no genetic variation.

Cotton target lines suitable for in planta gene stacking can be used to stack verticillium wilt resistance genes.

CRISPR–Cas9 has been used to edit multi-gene, starch branching enzyme families in canola and study gene-dosage effects, highlighting the necessity for rigorous analysis of gene-edited plants.

Gentian FLOWERING LOCUS T orthologs have diverse functions: GtFT1 promotes flowering, and GtFT2 promotes bud endodormancy release and functions with FRUITFULL to prevent untimely budbreak.

Under water-deficit conditions, inactivation of OsWRKY5 – which acts as a direct negative regulator of OsMYB2 expression under normal growth conditions – increases ABA-induced drought tolerance in rice

A DNA-free CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool based on an optimized protoplast regeneration protocol of wild tomato creates stable and inheritable diploid and tetraploid regenerants.

The cereal scutellum is a hub for diverse specialized defense metabolism and pathway discovery.

ggComp is a genomic-based approach that enables multi-scale germplasm network construction and promotes germplasm resource utilization in crop breeding.

2′,3′-cAMP induces changes in plant cells that correspond to changes induced by stress.

A single amino acid change in Arabidopsis BETA-AMYLASE1 prevents coupling of night-time starch degradation to time of dawn and causes premature exhaustion of starch reserves in the dark.

Mutating early flavonoid biosynthetic genes differentially affects the structure and content of tricin-incorporated lignin in rice cell walls.

P.Y.L., L.W., A.C.W.L., H.L., Y.T.K., M.X.C., F.Y.Z., and Y.T. performed experiments. P.Y.L., L.W., T.U., J.Z., Y.T., and C.L. conceived research and analyzed data. P.Y.L., Y.T., and C.L. wrote the manuscript with help from all the others.

The bHLH transcription factor CESTA induces gibberellin catabolism, an activity promoted by brassinosteroids.

The amino acid γ-aminobutyric acid orchestrates plant acclimation to a combination of high light and heat stress.

Mitochondrial ACONITASE3 is important for the acclimation to submergence stress by integrating carbon and nitrogen metabolism and impacting stress signaling pathways.

The transcription factor MdWRKY126 activates the expression of a cytosolic malate dehydrogenase gene to affect malate accumulation and transport in apple fruit.

In self-incompatible transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana lines, autophagy is an integral part of the cellular mechanisms in the stigma to efficiently block fertilization by self-incompatible pollen.

Whole-cell electron tomography correlates vacuole morphology with stomatal development stages.

Genotyping diploid A-genome relatives of wheat uncovered high genetic diversity and unique evolutionary relationships giving insight to the effective use of this germplasm for wheat improvement.

Mosses contain homo-oligomeric cellulose synthesis complexes composed of a single type of cellulose synthase catalytic subunit.

Maize Interveinal Chlorosis 1 encodes a 5′-methylthioadenosine nucleosidase, which is essential for 5′-methylthioadenosine salvage and nicotianamine biosynthesis.

FaMYB63 functions as a crucial regulator to control biosynthetic genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway and eugenol accumulation in strawberry fruit.

One-sentence summary: Global changes in histone modifications that occur during apple fruit ripening.

Differences in miRNAome, transcriptome, and phytohormone concentrations between stages and genotypes are essential for tissue differentiation and phenotypic plasticity in bamboo.

OsSWC4 directly binds to the AT-rich motifs in promoters of GA biosynthesis genes to mediate H2A.Z deposition and H4 acetylation, promote gene transcription, and modulate rice height.

Global mRNA m6A levels increase during tomato fruit expansion from immature green to mature green stages, and expansion and ripening of tomato fruits require dynamic modification of m6A.

Type 2C protein phosphatase clade D family members redundantly dephosphorylate the penultimate C-terminal threonine residue of plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase in guard cells to control stomatal movement.

The light-harvesting antennae of photosystem I facilitate energy transfer from trimeric light-harvesting complex II to photosystem I in the stroma lamellae membrane.

A toolset for simultaneous imaging of Ca²⁺ dynamics in subcellular compartments has uncovered unrecognized Ca²⁺ signatures in Arabidopsis cells in response to developmental and external cues.

A rice phosphate transporter stimulates both vegetative and reproductive growth via mediating phosphate transport from old leaves to young leaves and into anthers.

Piriformospora indica-induced elevated putrescine biosynthesis in tomato roots stimulates growth phytohormones auxin and gibberellin, resulting in growth promotion.

Salicylic acid-related transcription coregulators interact with GLK transcription factors to modulate chloroplast ROS homeostasis.

A rice AQPs acts as a positive immune regulator by transporting H₂O₂ and modulating a membrane-anchored transcription factor.

Apple phytochrome interacting factor 7 modulates anthocyanin biosynthesis and hypocotyl growth together with its interaction partners.

Oryza longistaminata, a rhizomatous wild rice, systemically regulates ammonium acquisition and use in response to spatially heterogeneous nitrogen availability via inter-ramet communication.