Abstract:
The escalating pressures of climate change on agricultural productivity present significant challenges to global food security, as the increasing severity of weather phenomena, especially drought, have detrimental effects on crop yield and quality. This research offers a dual-pronged approach to fostering drought-resistant cotton by initially utilizing VirusInduced Gene Silencing (VIGS) for temporary gene silencing, followed by CRISPR/Cas9 for enduring gene modification. Our primary focus was the Spindly (SPY) gene, a known negative regulator of drought stress response. VIGS was successfully employed to silence the cotton homolog of the SPY gene, resulting in discernible reduction in gene expression between 7-14 days after infiltration, and a notable enhancement in drought resistance. Subsequent to the validation of the SPY gene's role, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 for long-term, stable gene silencing. Using guide RNAs (gRNAs) to navigate the Cas9 nuclease to the SPY gene, we instigated targeted double-strand breaks that led to errorprone repair and subsequent gene deactivation. This permanent silencing of the SPY gene yielded an improvement in drought resistance in the offspring of the transformed plants, showing the potential for creating climate-adapted cotton varieties. While this study sheds light on the possibilities of integrating VIGS and CRISPR/Cas9 in crop enhancement, it also emphasizes the need for extensive risk assessment and regulatory governance in the field of genetic modification.
Page(s):
22-22
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, August 27-31, 2023 , Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023
Keywords:
Climate change
,
Food Security
,
CRISPRCas9
,
VirusInduced Gene Silencing
,
SPY gene