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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (4): 129-141.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2022180

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The use of the tRNA-sgRNA/Cas9 system for gene editing in perennial ryegrass protoplasts

Jia-ming YAO(), Huan-huan HAO, Jing ZHANG, Bin XU()   

  1. College of Agro-grassland Science,Nanjing Agricultural University,Nanjing 210095,China
  • Received:2022-04-20 Revised:2022-06-27 Online:2023-04-20 Published:2023-01-29
  • Contact: Bin XU

Abstract:

Transfer RNA (tRNA) can link multiple sgRNAs (single-guide RNAs) to form a polycistronic gene, which then combines with a CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated gene 9) expression vector to form a polycistronic tRNA-sgRNA/Cas9 (PTG/Cas9) system for multiple gene editing. The PTG/Cas9 system has been used to alter sgRNAs transcript levels and improve multi-target editing efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa). To efficiently edit target genes in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), we generated two CRISPR intermediate vectors with tRNAs to provide a fast and flexible PTG/Cas9 vector construction method. To verify whether the PTG/Cas9 system effectively edits genes in the perennial ryegrass genome, we introduced the PTG/Cas9 plasmid into perennial ryegrass protoplasts by PEG 4000-mediated transformation. Then, we extracted DNA from protoplasts and amplified the target sequences to determine whether they had been edited successfully. The gene editing efficiency was about 6.7%. These results show that the PTG/Cas9 system can be used for gene editing in the ryegrass genome, and provide the basis for further genetic research on, and breeding of perennial ryegrass.

Key words: CRISPR/Cas9, tRNA, multiple gene editing, vector, plasmid, protoplasts, perennial ryegrass