Breaking Linkage: CRISPR-Cas9-mediated targeted recombination in plant somatic cells

Summary

Plant breeding helps farmers produce crops with better traits, like higher yields, improved taste or disease resistance. These interesting traits often come from wild, related species. The problem is that interesting traits are often linked to undesirable ones, like small, sour fruits instead of large, tasty tomatoes. Traditional methods to separate these traits depend on luck and are not easily controlled. As a result, breeders must use many plants and make numerous crosses before all interesting traits are present in the plant. This process is slow, expensive, and inefficient.

During my PhD, I used molecular scissors, CRISPR-Cas9, to precisely cut between interesting and undesirable traits. This method makes it possible to separate traits in a targeted way. As a result, plant breeding no longer needs to rely on luck, allowing the process to be accelerated. More broadly, my research offers new insights into the possibilities, limitations, and practical applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for overcoming genetic barriers.