CRISPR/Cas9-Targeted Knockout of Rice Susceptibility Genes OsDjA2 and OsERF104 Reveals Alternative Sources of Resistance to Pyricularia oryzae
Fabiano T. P. K. Távora, Anne Cécile Meunier, Aurore Vernet, Murielle Portefaix, Joëlle Milazzo, Henri Adreit, Didier Tharreau, Octávio Luiz Franco, Ângela Mehta
Abstract
Rice genes OsDjA2 and OsERF104, encoding a chaperone protein and an APETELA2/ ethylene-responsive factor, respectively, are strongly induced in a compatible interaction with blast fungus, and also have function in plant susceptibility validated through gene silencing. Here, we reported the CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of OsDjA2 and OsERF104 genes resulting in considerable improvement of blast resistance. A total of 15 OsDjA2 (62.5%) and 17 OsERF104 (70.8%) T0 transformed lines were identified from 24 regenerated plants for each target and used in downstream experiments. Phenotyping of homozygous T1 mutant lines revealed not only a significant decrease in the number of blast lesions but also a reduction in the percentage of diseased leaf area, compared with the infected control plants. Our results supported CRISPR/Cas9-mediated target mutation in rice susceptibility genes as a potential and alternative breeding strategy for building resistance to blast disease.