Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Institute, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.
Crop Biotechnology Institute, GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Apr 3;22(7):3743. doi: 10.3390/ijms22073743.
Global population growth and climate change are posing increasing challenges to the production of a stable crop supply using current agricultural practices. The generation of genetically modified (GM) crops has contributed to improving crop stress tolerance and productivity; however, many regulations are still in place that limit their commercialization. Recently, alternative biotechnology-based strategies, such as gene-edited (GE) crops, have been in the spotlight. Gene-editing technology, based on the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) platform, has emerged as a revolutionary tool for targeted gene mutation, and has received attention as a game changer in the global biotechnology market. Here, we briefly introduce the concept of upstream open reading frames (uORFs) editing, which allows for control of the translation of downstream ORFs, and outline the potential for enhancing target gene expression by mutating uORFs. We discuss the current status of developing stress-tolerant crops, and discuss uORF targets associated with salt stress-responsive genes in rice that have already been verified by transgenic research. Finally, we overview the strategy for developing GE crops using uORF editing via the CRISPR-Cas9 system. A case is therefore made that the mutation of uORFs represents an efficient method for developing GE crops and an expansion of the scope of application of genome editing technology.
全球人口增长和气候变化对当前农业生产方式下稳定作物供应的能力提出了越来越多的挑战。转基因（GM）作物的产生有助于提高作物的抗逆性和生产力；然而，许多法规仍然限制其商业化。最近，基于基因编辑（GE）作物等替代生物技术的策略成为焦点。基于成簇规律间隔短回文重复（CRISPR）平台的基因编辑技术已成为靶向基因突变的革命性工具，并因其在全球生物技术市场中的变革作用而备受关注。在这里，我们简要介绍了上游开放阅读框（uORFs）编辑的概念，该编辑可控制下游 ORFs 的翻译，并概述了通过突变 uORFs 提高目标基因表达的潜力。我们讨论了开发抗逆性作物的现状，并讨论了已通过转基因研究验证的与水稻盐胁迫响应基因相关的 uORF 靶标。最后，我们概述了通过 CRISPR-Cas9 系统使用 uORF 编辑开发 GE 作物的策略。因此，可以认为突变 uORFs 是开发 GE 作物和扩展基因组编辑技术应用范围的有效方法。
