Efficient genetic transformation method for Eucalyptus genome editing

PLoS One. 2021 May 24;16(5):e0252011. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252011. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Plantation forestry of Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis supplies high-quality raw material for pulp, paper, wood, and energy and thereby reduces the pressures on native forests and their associated biodiversity. Nevertheless, owing to the heterozygosity of the E. urophylla × E. grandis genetic background, germplasm improvement by crossbreeding tends to be inefficient. As an alternative approach, genetic engineering of Eucalyptus can be used to effectively improve germplasm resources. From a strategic standpoint, increasing the plantation productivity and wood quality by transgenic technology has become increasingly important for forest industry. In this study, we established a fluorescence labelling method using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to obtain positive transformed progenies. The positive transformed progenies were easily obtained from the genetically modified population via fluorescence screening. This system can be used as a plant genome site-specific editing tool and may be useful for improving Eucalyptus genetic resources.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Eucalyptus / genetics*
  • Gene Editing / methods*
  • Genetic Engineering*
  • Genome, Plant / genetics
  • Transformation, Genetic / genetics*
  • Wood / genetics

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071780), the Key Project of Basic Research and Applied Research of Guangdong Province (2018KZDXM047), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2017A030307017; 2019A1515010709), the Science and Technology Tackle Key Problem of Guangdong Province (mmkj2020035), and College Students’ innovation and entrepreneurship training program of Guangdong Province (733163: 733164; 733317).