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Modification of cereal plant architecture by genome editing to improve yields

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Abstract

Key Message

We summarize recent genome editing studies that have focused on the examination (or reexamination) of plant architectural phenotypes in cereals and the modification of these traits for crop improvement.

Abstract

Plant architecture is defined as the three-dimensional organization of the entire plant. Shoot architecture refers to the structure and organization of the aboveground components of a plant, reflecting the developmental patterning of stems, branches, leaves and inflorescences/flowers. Root system architecture is essentially determined by four major shape parameters—growth, branching, surface area and angle. Interest in plant architecture has arisen from the profound impact of many architectural traits on agronomic performance, and the genetic and hormonal regulation of these traits which makes them sensitive to both selective breeding and agronomic practices. This is particularly important in staple crops, and a large body of literature has, therefore, accumulated on the control of architectural phenotypes in cereals, particularly rice due to its twin role as one of the world’s most important food crops as well as a model organism in plant biology and biotechnology. These studies have revealed many of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of tiller/axillary branching, stem height, leaf and flower development, root architecture and the grain characteristics that ultimately help to determine yield. The advent of genome editing has made it possible, for the first time, to introduce precise mutations into cereal crops to optimize their architecture and close in on the concept of the ideotype. In this review, we consider recent genome editing studies that have focused on the examination (or reexamination) of plant architectural phenotypes in cereals and the modification of these traits for crop improvement.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Spain (RTI2018-097613-B-I00; PGC2018-097655-B-I00); PROSTRIG, ERA-NET Cofund SusCrop (Grant N°771134); and the Austrian Science Fund FWF (I2823-B25).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science, University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain

    Xin Huang, Paul Christou & Changfu Zhu

  2. Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria

    Julia Hilscher & Eva Stoger

  3. ICREA, Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain

    Paul Christou

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  1. Xin Huang
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  2. Julia Hilscher
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  3. Eva Stoger
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  4. Paul Christou
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  5. Changfu Zhu
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CZ, ES and PC conceived and designed the review. CZ, XH, JH, ES and PC wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Changfu Zhu.

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Huang, X., Hilscher, J., Stoger, E. et al. Modification of cereal plant architecture by genome editing to improve yields. Plant Cell Rep 40, 953–978 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-021-02668-7

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