Brassica napus GE-CP1 plants were produced with CRISPR/Cas9 technology targeting two ALCATRAZ (ALC) homoeologs. ALC is involved in valve margin development and, thus, contributes to seed shattering from mature fruits. Knocking out ALC might increase shatter resistance to avoid seed loss during mechanical harvest.

In GE-CP1 all 4 alleles of ALC were successfully modified by either a deletion of 1, 2, and 7 bp and a 1-bp insertion. GE-CP1 plants showed higher shatter resistance in 5- to 6-cm-long siliques than same-sized siliques of the cultivar.

Whole-genome sequencing suggests at least five insertions of the vector fragment in the plant genome.

Source:

Braatz J, et al. (2017). CRISPR-Cas9 Targeted Mutagenesis Leads to Simultaneous Modification of Different Homoeologous Gene Copies in Polyploid Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus). Plant Physiol, 174(2):935-942