Agrobiotechnology Talk Series (23) Introduction to CRISPR-Cas technology was held on 14 September 2022. In this talk, Dr Yiping Qi of University of Maryland, College Park provided a general overview of the landscape of the cutting-edge CRISPR genome editing tools, including CRISPR-Cas9, CRISPR-Cas12a, CRISPR-Cas12b, C-to-T base editors, A-to-G base editors, and prime editors. He also presented a few case studies on the application of these tools different plant species, including rice, maize, wheat, carrot, tomato, and poplar. Highly efficient multiplexed genome editing systems based on CRISPR-Cas9 and Cas12a has also been introduced. Their powerful applications have been showcased in rice, such as simultaneous editing of multiple crop traits, targeted protein evolution for herbicide resistance, and creation of quantitative traits by editing cis-regulatory elements. Dr Qi also talked about an exciting gene activation technology, CRISPR-Act3.0, and its use for accelerating crop breeding and metabolic engineering. Collectively, these CRISPR technologies will greatly aid the development of high-yield, nutritious and resilient crops to feed the growing population worldwide.
Agrobiotechnology talk series aims to promote agrobiotechnology and enhance understanding of the potential applications of agricultural products. The target audience includes international scholars, researchers, agricultural industry as well as the general public.
Full video of the talk can be viewed below.
