CRISPR/Cas9 revolutionizes Macleaya cordata breeding: a leap in sanguinarine biosynthesis

作者：Mengshan Sun, Xiaohong Zhong, Li Zhou, Wei Liu, Rong Song, Peng Huang, Jianguo Zeng · 发表于：Horticulture Research · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/hr/uhae024 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Berberine and alkaloids research、Plant Genetic and Mutation Studies、CRISPR and Genetic Engineering

Dear Editor, For many years, the agricultural industry has relied heavily on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters (AGPs) in animal feeding practices. Recognizing the associated health risks, the EU, the USA, and China have banned AGPs, prompting global research into sustainable alternatives for animal growth and health [1]. Sanguinarine, an important growth promoter used in feed for its antibacterial and growth-promoting effects, is produced in abundance by Macleaya cordata [2]. With the increasing demand for sanguinarine, it is necessary to accelerate breeding research on M. cordata with the goal of increasing the sanguinarine content. In recent years, precise gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 have offered novel approaches for overcoming the limitations of traditional breeding, with notable success in medicinal plants such as Dioscorea spp. [3] and Cannabis sativa [4]. These examples serve as pioneering forays in the field of genetic manipulation of medicinal plants and demonstrate the potential of using CRISPR/Cas9 to make targeted genetic changes [2]. Here we report a successful CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing system in M. cordata and applied this system to successfully knock out branches in the sanguinarine synthesis pathway to obtain mutant plants with significantly increased sanguinarine levels. Initially, we searched the entire length of the sequences and CDS regions of the McPDS gene from the M. cordata genome and transcript information. The PDS ...