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Engineering of plant chromosomes

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Abstract

Engineered minimal chromosomes with sufficient mitotic and meiotic stability have an enormous potential as vectors for stacking multiple genes required for complex traits in plant biotechnology. Proof of principle for essential steps in chromosome engineering such as truncation of chromosomes by T-DNA-mediated telomere seeding and de novo formation of centromeres by cenH3 fusion protein tethering has been recently obtained. In order to generate robust protocols for application in plant biotechnology, these steps need to be combined and supplemented with additional methods such as site-specific recombination for the directed transfer of multiple genes of interest on the minichromosomes. At the same time, the development of these methods allows new insight into basic aspects of plant chromosome functions such as how centromeres assure proper distribution of chromosomes to daughter cells or how telomeres serve to cap the chromosome ends to prevent shortening of ends over DNA replication cycles and chromosome end fusion.

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Abbreviations

BFB:

Breakage-fusion-bridge

cenH3:

Centromeric histone H3-variant

Cre:

Phage P1 recombinase

CRISPR:

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats

DSB:

Double-strand break

GFP:

Green fluorescence protein

LacI:

Lac inhibitor protein

lacO :

Lac operator sequence

loxP :

Locus of crossing-over on phage P1

PARC:

Plant artificial ring chromosome

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by DFG (German Research Council) grant HO 1779/22-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group Chromosome Structure and Function, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstr. 3, 06466, Stadt Seeland OT Gatersleben, Germany

    Michael Florian Mette & Andreas Houben

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  1. Michael Florian Mette
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  2. Andreas Houben
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Correspondence to Michael Florian Mette.

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Responsible Editors: Natalay Kouprina and Vladimir Larionov

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Mette, M.F., Houben, A. Engineering of plant chromosomes. Chromosome Res 23, 69–76 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-014-9449-1

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