BULLETIN 1

Genome-Edited Rice Shows Resistance to Bacterial Blight in East Africa

Figure: Scientists from KALRO take samples from the vast rice fields in Kenya to examine them for pathological organisms. (Photo Source: Emily Gichuhi)
Using genome editing, the "Healthy Crops" consortium, in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) developed an innovative strategy to combat bacterial blight (BB) in rice. If approved for use by farmers in Kenya, the BB-resistant rice varieties are expected to increase productivity and reduce yield losses associated with the disease in the affected rice-growing regions.
In 2019, members of the Healthy Crops team identified an outbreak of BB in Tanzania caused by invasive Asian variants of the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) which spread rapidly, causing an estimated yield loss of 13–20%.
The starting point for the Healthy Crops researchers is the bacteria's nutrient supply. The Xoo bacteria have a set of “keys” that can open the “pantry” of the plants. When the bacterium injects one of these “key” proteins into rice cells, it leads to increased production of a transporter, which releases sugar in the bacteria's neighborhood. This sugar serves as nutrition and is essential for the multiplication and virulence of the bacteria. However, as the bacteria use the sugar, the plants have nothing left to use and ultimately die.
The research team has succeeded in changing the “locks” via genome editing, making the plants resistant to all known Xoo strains currently prevalent in Asia and Africa. Professor Bing Yang from the University of Missouri who developed the editing approach, states: “The combination of two different sets of enzymes for editing enabled us to develop a robust resistance.”
For more details, read the news article on the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf website.
See: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/ged/article/default.asp?ID=21219

 

BULLETIN 2
Chinese Scientists Use Gene Editing to Develop CoQ10-Producing Rice

Scientists from China, led by Prof. Chen Xiaoya and Prof. Gao Caixia from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully developed a new rice variety that is capable of producing coenzyme CoQ10 (CoQ10) using gene editing. These advancements offer a promising, sustainable solution for boosting dietary CoQ10 intake through widely consumed crops.
CoQ10, an essential component for heart health, functions as a key part of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and a fat-soluble antioxidant. While humans naturally produce CoQ10, most plant-based foods like rice and wheat primarily synthesize CoQ9. Developing CoQ10-enriched crops offers a cost-effective and sustainable way to enhance nutritional value and improve health benefits.
Using CRISPR, the researchers edited the native Coq1 gene and developed a new rice variety that produces CoQ10 instead of CoQ9 without affecting the yield. The gene-edited rice demonstrated over 75% CoQ10 accumulation in both grains and leaves. The edits introduced to the high-yielding variety Xiushui134 also achieved similar results. The same approach was also used to develop wheat lines with significantly higher CoQ10 levels than their wild-type counterparts.
For more information, read the article from the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the study from Cell.
See: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/ged/article/default.asp?ID=21214

 

SCIENTIFIC NEWS

Design of CoQ10 crops based on evolutionary history
Jing-Jing Xu, Yuan Lei, Xiao-Fan Zhang, Jian-Xu Li, Qiupeng Lin, Xiang-Dong Wu, Yu-Guo Jiang, Wenyi Zhang, Runtong Qian, S Xiong, Kuo Tan, Yu Jia, Qiang Zhou, Yan Jiang, Hang Fan, Yan-Bo Huang, LJ Wang, Ji-Yun Liu, Yu Kong, Qing Zhao, Lei Yang, Jinxing Liu, YH Hu, Shuai Zhan, Caixia Gao, Xiao-Ya Chen
Cell; February 13, 2025, Open Access

 

  

 

Summary
Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is essential for energy production by mitochondrial respiration, and it is a supplement most often used to promote cardiovascular health. Humans make CoQ10, but cereals and some vegetable/fruit crops synthesize CoQ9 with a side chain of nine isoprene units. Engineering CoQ10 production in crops would benefit human health, but this is hindered by the fact that the specific residues of the enzyme Coq1 that control chain length are unknown. Based on an extensive investigation of the distribution of CoQ9 and CoQ10 in land plants and the associated Coq1 sequence variation, we identified key amino acid changes at the base of the Coq1 catalytic pocket that occurred independently in multiple angiosperm lineages and repeatedly drove CoQ9 formation. Guided by this knowledge, we used gene editing to modify the native Coq1 genes of rice and wheat to produce CoQ10, paving the way for developing additional dietary sources of CoQ10.
See https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00087-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS009286742500087X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

 

  

FIGURE:
Distribution of CoQ9 and CoQ10, and associated Coq1 amino acid residues, in land plants