Editing of a Novel Cd Uptake-Related Gene CUP1 Contributes to Reducing Cd Accumulations in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus

Abstract

Brassica napus is a Cd hyperaccumulator, which is a serious threat to food and fodder safety. However, no related studies on developing Cd-safe B. napus have been reported yet. Here, we screened out a novel Cd uptake-related gene, AtCUP1, from the major facilitator superfamily in Arabidopsis thaliana. The mutation of AtCUP1 decreased Cd accumulation, both in roots and shoots of A. thaliana. Furthermore, the disruption of the AtCUP1 gene by the CRISPR/Cas9 system significantly reduced Cd accumulation in A. thaliana. Interestingly, the disruption of the BnCUP1 gene, an orthologous gene of AtCUP1, by the CRISPR/Cas9 system also diminished Cd accumulation in both roots and shoots of B. napus based on the hydroponics assay. Furthermore, for the field experiment, the Cd accumulations of BnCUP1-edited lines were reduced by 52% in roots and 77% in shoots compared to that of wild-type (WT) lines, and the biomass and yield of BnCUP1-edited lines increased by 42% and 47% of that of WT, respectively. Noteworthily, agronomic characteristics of B. napus were not apparently affected by BnCUP1-editing. Thus, BnCUP1-edited lines are excellent non-transgenic germplasm resources for reducing Cd accumulation without a distinct compromise in yield, which could be applied to agricultural production in Cd-contaminated soils.

Editorial: Genome editing and biotechnological advances for crop improvement and future agriculture

“…The cleavage of DNA can often result in insertions or deletions (InDels), which can lead to frameshift mutations and gene knockouts. CRISPR/Cas9 has been widely used for genome editing in various plant species, including model plants, cereal crops, oil crops, fruits, vegetables, and horticulture plants ( Okamoto et al., 2022 ; Yao et al., 2022 ). However, genome editing in vegetables is limited, and till now, radish genome editing has been unexplored.…”