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A trait stacking system via intra-genomic homologous recombination

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Abstract

Main conclusion

A gene targeting method has been developed, which allows the conversion of ‘breeding stacks’, containing unlinked transgenes into a ‘molecular stack’ and thereby circumventing the breeding challenges associated with transgene segregation.

A gene targeting method has been developed for converting two unlinked trait loci into a single locus transgene stack. The method utilizes intra-genomic homologous recombination (IGHR) between stably integrated target and donor loci which share sequence homology and nuclease cleavage sites whereby the donor contains a promoterless herbicide resistance transgene. Upon crossing with a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN)-expressing plant, double-strand breaks (DSB) are created in both the stably integrated target and donor loci. DSBs flanking the donor locus result in intra-genomic mobilization of a promoterless selectable marker-containing donor sequence, which can be utilized as a template for homology-directed repair of a concomitant DSB at the target locus resulting in a functional selectable marker via nuclease-mediated cassette exchange (NMCE). The method was successfully demonstrated in maize using a glyphosate tolerance gene as a donor whereby up to 3.3 % of the resulting progeny embryos cultured on selection medium regenerated plants with the donor sequence integrated into the target locus. The process could be extended to multiple cycles of trait stacking by virtue of a unique intron sequence homology for NMCE between the target and the donor loci. This is the first report that describes NMCE via IGHR, thereby enabling trait stacking using conventional crossing.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Diaa AlAbed, Stephen Foulk, Huixia Wu, Carla Ausmus, Margaret Beck, Heather Robinson, Tatyana Minnicks, and Daren Hemingway for plant transformation and regeneration work, Jamie Torrence for greenhouse support, and Nicole Skaggs for molecular analysis. The authors would also like to thank Manju Gupta, Michelle Smith, and Rodrigo Sarria for their support. We also thank anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive review of the manuscript.

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  1. Joseph F. Petolino

    Present address: Biotechnology Department, Ivy Tech Community College, 9301 East 59th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46216, USA

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  1. Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46268, USA

    Sandeep Kumar, Andrew Worden, Stephen Novak, Ryan Lee & Joseph F. Petolino

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  1. Sandeep Kumar
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  2. Andrew Worden
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  3. Stephen Novak
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Correspondence to Sandeep Kumar.

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The authors in this publication certify that they are current or former employees of Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. As employees, they authors may have some company stock (The Dow Chemical Company), but no other personal financial interest in the subject matter of the materials discussed in this manuscript.

Additional information

S. Kumar and A. Worden contributed equally to this work.

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Kumar, S., Worden, A., Novak, S. et al. A trait stacking system via intra-genomic homologous recombination. Planta 244, 1157–1166 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-016-2595-2

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