Boosting Plant Gene Editing and Regeneration with Special Genes

This patent describes a method to make plant genetic engineering more efficient by adding specific genes that encourage plant cells to divide and grow, making it easier to create new plants with desired traits.

What it covers

This method improves how well plant cells regenerate into whole plants and how efficiently genes can be edited or added. It works by introducing specific combinations of genes into a plant cell. For example, Claim 1 describes introducing an expression construct containing the WUS, BBM, and SERK genes (or GRF and GIF genes, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22) to boost the plant cell's ability to regenerate. Claim 2 applies this same gene introduction step to help transform a plant with an "exogenous nucleic acid sequence of interest," meaning a new piece of DNA. Claim 3 extends this to gene editing, where the introduced genes help a gene editing system (like CRISPR) work better to modify the plant's own DNA. After these genes are introduced, an intact plant is regenerated from the modified cell.

What it doesn't cover

• —Does not cover plant genetic transformation or gene editing methods that do not involve introducing the specific WUS, BBM, SERK, GRF, GIF, or SEQ ID NO: 22 nucleic acid sequences.
• —Does not cover methods that improve plant regeneration or gene editing using entirely different sets of cell division-promoting genes.
• —Does not cover genetic modification techniques that do not require regenerating an intact plant from a single plant cell.
• —Does not cover gene editing or genetic transformation in animals, fungi, or other non-plant organisms.
• —Does not cover methods where the WUS, BBM, and SERK genes are not introduced together, unless the GRF and GIF genes or SEQ ID NO: 22 are used instead.

The clever bit

The clever bit is identifying and leveraging specific combinations of known plant developmental genes (WUS, BBM, SERK, GRF, GIF) to significantly overcome the inherent difficulty of regenerating whole plants from genetically modified cells. This targeted genetic intervention directly addresses a major bottleneck in plant biotechnology.

Why it matters

Plant genetic engineering is a crucial technology for developing crops with improved traits like disease resistance, higher yields, or enhanced nutritional value. The ability to efficiently regenerate a whole plant from a single modified cell is often a bottleneck in this process. By making this step more efficient, this patent could accelerate the development and testing of new genetically modified or gene-edited crops, potentially leading to more resilient and productive agricultural systems.

Real-world examples

• 1.Development of disease-resistant corn varieties
• 2.Creation of drought-tolerant soybean plants
• 3.Engineering rice with enhanced nutritional content
• 4.Accelerated breeding of new crop varieties through gene editing