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Genome editing in potato plants by agrobacterium-mediated transient expression of transcription activator-like effector nucleases

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Abstract

Genome editing (also known as targeted mutation) has promise for molecular breeding. Compared with the CRISPR/Cas9 system, the transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) have likely a lesser off-target rate in genome editing. Both a rapid test system for the functionality of designed TALENs and an effective delivery system for introducing the TALENs to plants are critical for successful target mutation. TALENs have usually been tested in protoplasts or introduced to plants with viral vectors. However, plant regeneration from protoplast culture can generate extensive somatic variation. Viral vectors are not always available, and plants edited by these vectors usually require virus elimination. Here, we used a non-viral, Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression approach, to serve both rapid test and effective delivery of TALENs into two vegetatively propagated potato cultivars, Solanum tuberosum Russet Burbank and Shepody. Two TALENs with different molecular weights (22 and 27 aa-repeat modules) were expressed to target two endogenous genes (starch branching enzyme and an acid invertase) by Agrobacterium-mediated infiltration (agroinfiltration) into leaves of potato plants. The infiltrated leaf DNA was analyzed using restriction site loss assay and subsequent DNA sequencing. Deep sequencing of these tetraploid cultivars was also conducted to determine the zygosity at the targeted chromosomal loci. TALENs, with different molecular weights, successfully agroinfiltrated and induced mutations at both targeted loci.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Muhammad Haroon, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, for his general support in the laboratory and his technical support in plant and DNA preparation. The research funding was from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada A-base, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the deep sequencing was supported by the New Brunswick Agricultural Innovation Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fredericton Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Road, PO Box 20280, Fredericton, NB, E3B 4Z7, Canada

    Jin Ma, Heng Xiang & Xiu-Qing Li

  2. Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Jin Ma & Fan-Rui Meng

  3. College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Heng Xiang

  4. Plant Science Department, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada

    Danielle J. Donnelly

  5. Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Charlottetown Laboratory, 93 Mount Edward Road, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 5T1, Canada

    Huimin Xu

  6. Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, 10 Bailey Drive, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Dion Durnford

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  1. Jin Ma
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  2. Heng Xiang
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  3. Danielle J. Donnelly
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  4. Fan-Rui Meng
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  7. Xiu-Qing Li
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Correspondence to Xiu-Qing Li.

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Ma, J., Xiang, H., Donnelly, D.J. et al. Genome editing in potato plants by agrobacterium-mediated transient expression of transcription activator-like effector nucleases. Plant Biotechnol Rep 11, 249–258 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-017-0448-5

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