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Engineering broad‐spectrum disease‐resistant rice by editing multiple susceptibility genes
Author(s) -
Tao Hui,
Shi Xuetao,
He Feng,
Wang Dan,
Xiao Ning,
Fang Hong,
Wang Ruyi,
Zhang Fan,
Wang Min,
Li Aihong,
Liu Xionglun,
Wang GuoLiang,
Ning Yuese
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of integrative plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.734
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1744-7909
pISSN - 1672-9072
DOI - 10.1111/jipb.13145
Subject(s) - xanthomonas oryzae , panicle , biology , mutant , oryza sativa , xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae , plant disease resistance , gene , pyricularia , broad spectrum , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , agronomy , horticulture , chemistry , combinatorial chemistry
Rice blast and bacterial blight are important diseases of rice ( Oryza sativa ) caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ), respectively. Breeding rice varieties for broad‐spectrum resistance is considered the most effective and sustainable approach to controlling both diseases. Although dominant resistance genes have been extensively used in rice breeding and production, generating disease‐resistant varieties by altering susceptibility ( S ) genes that facilitate pathogen compatibility remains unexplored. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we generated loss‐of‐function mutants of the S genes Pi21 and Bsr‐d1 and showed that they had increased resistance to M. oryzae . We also generated a knockout mutant of the S gene Xa5 that showed increased resistance to Xoo . Remarkably, a triple mutant of all three S genes had significantly enhanced resistance to both M. oryzae and Xoo . Moreover, the triple mutant was comparable to the wild type in regard to key agronomic traits, including plant height, effective panicle number per plant, grain number per panicle, seed setting rate, and thousand‐grain weight. These results demonstrate that the simultaneous editing of multiple S genes is a powerful strategy for generating new rice varieties with broad‐spectrum resistance.