Research project
Specificity and side-effects of mutagenesis by CRISPR/Cas9 -induced breaks in plants
Do large deletions represent a risk during CRISP/CAS9-mediated genome editing in plants?
- Duration
- 2017 - 2021
- Funding
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NWO Biotechnology and Safety
- Partners
Specificity and side-effects of mutagenesis by nuclease-induced breaks and Cas9-mediated epigenome editing in plants; identifying hazards, analyzing risks and creating inherent safety.
Mutagenesis and genome editing using RNA-guided endonucleases such as CRISPR/Cas9 has great potential for plant breeding. Within the framework of the TTW Biotechnology and Safety Programme and in collaboration with Wageningen UR, the IBL based research group will primarily study risks related with large deletions that could potentially lead to chromosome loss.
With the molecular machinery for genome maintenance and DNA repair highly conserved in eukaryotes, plants – and in particular Arabidopsis thaliana with its huge genetic resources – provide an excellent model to study such events because many mutations that are lethal in animal models can often still be recovered and studied.
Together with specialists in risk assessment and regulatory affairs, we will produce an overview of potential hazards in plants.