De novo domestication of wild tomato using genome editing

Author(s)

Zsogon, Agustin ^[1] ; Cermak, Tomas ^{[2, 3]} ; Naves, Emmanuel Rezende ^[1] ; Notini, Marcela Morato ^[4] ; Edel, Kai H. ^[5] ; Weinl, Stefan ^[5] ; Freschi, Luciano ^[6] ; Voytas, Daniel F. ^[2] ; Kudla, Jorg ^[5] ; Pereira Peres, Lazar Eustiquio ^[4]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Vicosa, Dept Biol Vegetal, Vicosa, MG - Brazil

^[2] Univ Minnesota, Dept Genet Cell Biol & Dev, Ctr Genome Engn, Minneapolis, MN - USA

^[3] Inari Agr, Cambridge, MA - USA

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Biol, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[5] Univ Munster, Inst Biol & Biotechnol Pflanzen, Munster - Germany

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY; v. 36, n. 12, p. 1211+, DEC 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 48

Abstract

Breeding of crops over millennia for yield and productivity ) has led to reduced genetic diversity. As a result, beneficial traits of wild species, such as disease resistance and stress tolerance, have been lost 2. We devised a CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering strategy to combine agronomically desirable traits with useful traits present in wild lines. We report that editing of six loci that are important for yield and productivity in present-day tomato crop lines enabled de novo domestication of wild Solanum pimpinellifolium. Engineered S. pimpinellifolium morphology was altered, together with the size, number and nutritional value of the fruits. Compared with the wild parent, our engineered lines have a threefold increase in fruit size and a tenfold increase in fruit number. Notably, fruit lycopene accumulation is improved by 500% compared with the widely cultivated S. lycopersicum. Our results pave the way for molecular breeding programs to exploit the genetic diversity present in wild plants. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/50220-2 - Enhancing salt tolerance in tomato crops for advancing sustainable agriculture and food production
• Grantee: Lázaro Eustaquio Pereira Peres
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/18056-2 - Interaction between light, hormonal and nitric oxide signaling during plastidial biogenesis and differentiation and nutraceutical compounds accumulation in tomato fruits
• Grantee: Luciano Freschi
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/12209-1 - Anatomical, hormonal and molecular caracterization involved in the acquisition of competence and in vitro regeneration of tomato
• Grantee: Marcela Morato Notini
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate