Prolongation of seed viability and grain quality in rice by editing using CRISPR/Cas9.

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Deterioration of rice ( L.) affects grain quality and seed viability during storage. Lipoxygenase (LOX), a key enzyme in lipid metabolism, directly affects the rate of ageing. Here, we found that knock-out of lipoxygenase gene 1 by CRISPR/Cas9 delayed loss of seed viability and quality. Transcriptome analysis showed that during storage, affected transcription of multiple genes, including genes related to lipid metabolism and antioxidant pathways such as phosphatase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, which may regulate the seed storability. The genes significantly down- and up-regulated only in Ningjing 4 after NA for 13 months and 3 days of AA suggesting that likely promoted seed viability in rice by balancing ageing and storage related genes, and regulated the seed storability through the amino acid synthesis and metabolic pathways. Moreover, knock-out of without CRISPR/Cas9 not only improved the seed viability, but also had little impact on agronomic traits. More importantly, the knock-out lines were approved in 2019 (Agricultural Foundation of China Report No. 770). Collectively, our study showed that knock-out of is beneficial for prolongation of seed viability and can be directly applied to agricultural production.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-024-01506-4.