From Genetic Stock to Genome Editing: Gene Exploitation in Wheat

Meng Wang; Shubin Wang; Zhen Liang; Weiming Shi; Caixia Gao; Guangmin Xia

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.10.002

From Genetic Stock to Genome Editing: Gene Exploitation in Wheat

Trends Biotechnol. 2018 Feb;36(2):160-172. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.10.002. Epub 2017 Nov 5.

Authors

Meng Wang¹, Shubin Wang², Zhen Liang³, Weiming Shi⁴, Caixia Gao⁵, Guangmin Xia⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, and Center for Genome Editing, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; These authors contributed equally to this work.
² The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; These authors contributed equally to this work.
³ State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, and Center for Genome Editing, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, and Center for Genome Editing, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: cxgao@genetics.ac.cn.
⁶ The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China. Electronic address: xiagm@sdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 29102241
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.10.002

Abstract

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) ranks as one of our most important staple crops. However, its hexaploid nature has complicated our understanding of the genetic bases underlying many of its traits. Historically, functional genetic studies in wheat have focused on identifying natural variations and have contributed to assembling and enriching its genetic stock. Recently, mold-breaking advances in whole genome sequencing, exome-capture based mutant libraries, and genome editing have revolutionized strategies for genetic research in wheat. We review new trends in wheat functional genetic studies along with germplasm conservation and innovation, including the relevance of genetic stocks, and the application of sequencing-based mutagenesis and genome editing. We also highlight the potential of multiplex genome editing toolkits in addressing species-specific challenges in wheat.

Keywords: agronomically important genes; bread wheat; functional genetics; genetic stock; genome editing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

CRISPR-Cas Systems*
Crops, Agricultural / genetics*
Gene Editing / methods*
Gene Library
Genetic Variation
Genome, Plant*
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
Mutagenesis
Plant Breeding
Polyploidy
Seed Bank / supply & distribution*
Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases / genetics
Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases / metabolism
Triticum / genetics*

Substances

Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases