Gene Super-Evolution Technology: "Tailoring" for Crop Gene Editing

In the past, the debate over GENETICally modified crops has focused on whether there is a safety hazard in the external genes (such as those from pathogens and bacteria) when they are transferred to crops. So, can we find a path to obtain good traits such as crop disease-resistant insects and herbicides alone by genetic mutations of crops themselves? A "genetic super-evolution" technology aimed at achieving this goal has been born in Sichuan and is supported by the Sichuan Science and Technology Project.
at present, the research team of the project has developed through the self-developed "gene super-evolution" technology, in the laboratory of rice's own EPSPS gene (anti-glyphosate herbicide gene) high-throughput screening, separation, promote its orientation, high-speed evolution, high resistance to glyphosate functional genes, and obtained two invention patents.
a test tube two days to complete a million gene screening seeking good genes has always been the goal of the agricultural breeding community, but the plant's own genetic mutation simply is a long and random process.
in the 1990s, seed giant Monsanto pioneered the separation of the EPSPS gene's mutant CP4 gene in the agronomic bacteria, and transferred the gene to plants to gain glyphosate resistance, which also started a global wave of agricultural genetic modification.
"CP4 is not a source plant, but a mutation of 'farm bacteria' from glyphosate production plants, which has become the biggest controversy for genetically modified crops."
" project undertaking enterprise - Sichuan Tianyu Xingyu Biotech Co. , Ltd. chief scientist Yan Nanfei said that because all plants do not contain anti-glyphosate gene, which makes traditional, plant-only gene breeding, it is difficult to obtain anti-glyphosate genes, and ultimately scientists only have to put antibody genes in bacteria into plants.
in order to find a path of good genes such as disease-resistant insects and herbicides, who have worked for Monsanto, BASF, Bayer and other agricultural science and technology companies for nearly 20 years, founded a company in Sichuan in 2015 and started research and development of "genetic super-evolution" technology.
" gene superevolution is the ability to enable plants' target genes to complete efficient, rapid, and directional evolutionary processes in a given system, thus forming the mutant genes we need.
" Yan Nanfei said the innovation of the technology is the ability to extract target genes from crops such as rice, large-scale mutations and high-speed screening in the laboratory, "traditional gene evolution, screening, 1 million genes can be screened for a useful gene, and it takes 100 acres of land, 6 months to complete;
"for crop gene editing" tailor-made" at present, the team has undertaken the Sichuan Province science and technology project "plant anti-glyphosate functional gene rapid evolution and screening research", the goal is to use the principle of "gene super-evolution" to establish an effective evolution and screening system of anti-glyphosate herbicide gene, so that it can mass-produce EPSPS gene mutants, and through the cycle of continuous improvement of the gene resistance to glyphosate.
Science and Technology Daily reporter in the team has obtained the patent certificate, the team has been screened for the high anti-glyphosate gene, is currently the world's most widely used glyphosate resistance gene (CP4 gene) resistance 2-3 times, while the full fertility period resistance performance is consistent, the characteristics are more stable.
"screening genes from plants themselves can be 'tailored' for crop genes.
" Yan Nanfei said that the team screened out the high anti-glyphosate gene, can use genetic modification technology to introduce the gene into the plant body, quickly obtain the new varieties of plants needed.
" rice EPSPS gene screened through the system comes from the rice itself and belongs to the plant endogenous gene, which is very convenient for later application.
if the world's latest gene editing methods can be used to guide it back to rice, can be in 2 to 3 years, the development of non-GMO anti-glyphosate rice new varieties.
"Due to the efficiency of the gene super-evolutionary technology, the team has now evolved a variety of crop genes into high-resistant glyphosate genes, and is using gene editing technology to try to import these high-resistant glyphosate genes from the plant itself into the crop."
" in the future, the technology can be used to transform corn, wheat, soybeans, rape, cotton and other crops, to obtain the corresponding non-GMO anti-glyphosate new varieties.
" he said, the application of these new varieties is important in reducing pesticide use, saving labor and production costs, and increasing crop yields and quality.
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