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The expanding footprint of CRISPR/Cas9 in the plant sciences

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Abstract

CRISPR/Cas9 has evolved and transformed the field of biology at an unprecedented pace. From the initial purpose of introducing a site specific mutation within a genome of choice, this technology has morphed into enabling a wide array of molecular applications, including site-specific transgene insertion and multiplexing for the simultaneous induction of multiple cleavage events. Efficiency, specificity, and flexibility are key attributes that have solidified CRISPR/Cas9 as the genome-editing tool of choice by scientists from all areas of biology. Within the field of plant biology, several CRISPR/Cas9 technologies, developed in other biological systems, have been successfully implemented to probe plant gene function and to modify specific crop traits. It is anticipated that this trend will persist and lead to the development of new applications and modifications of the CRISPR technology, adding to an ever-expanding collection of genome-editing tools. We envision that these tools will bestow plant researchers with new utilities to alter genome complexity, engineer site-specific integration events, control gene expression, generate transgene-free edited crops, and prevent or cure plant viral disease. The successful implementation of such utilities will represent a new frontier in plant biotechnology.

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Abbreviations

CRISPR:

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats

Cas9:

CRISPR-associated protein 9

dCas9:

Dead Cas9

PAM:

Protospacer adjacent motif

RNP:

Ribonucleoprotein

sgRNA:

Single guide RNA

TALEN:

Transcription activator-like effector nuclease

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Acknowledgments

The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. The authors apologize to those whose work could not be cited due to space limitation. The authors would like to thank Dr. Michele McConn, Dr. Christopher Hendrickson, and Ms. Vandhana Krishnan for critically reading this manuscript and Mr. Adam Gillum for his assistance in preparing Fig. 3.

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, 1100 Bates St., Houston, TX, 77030-2600, USA

    Scott M. Schaeffer & Paul A. Nakata

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  1. Scott M. Schaeffer
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  2. Paul A. Nakata
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Correspondence to Paul A. Nakata.

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This work was supported by the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under Cooperative Agreement Number 58-3092-5-001.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Communicated by M. Mahfouz.

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Schaeffer, S.M., Nakata, P.A. The expanding footprint of CRISPR/Cas9 in the plant sciences. Plant Cell Rep 35, 1451–1468 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-1987-x

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