C57-20.a New device for improving gene editing and transformation efficiency of bioenergy crops

Growing bioenergy crops, capturing the carbon in air then turning it into biofuels, offers one way to address the climate challenge. However, to improve the efficiency and the yield of bioenergy crops, gene editing tools are needed to produce the energy crops with desirable traits within a reasonable time frame. Due to the rigidity of plant cell walls, it is more challenging to deliver biological reagents into the plant cells compared with animal cells. One method for delivering reagents into plants cells is a gene gun: reagents are loaded with heavy metal particles used as bullets and are bombarded into the plant cells. Key challenges for using gene gun devices are low consistency and delivery efficiency. The proposed project will significantly improve the delivery efficiency by designing a new barrel device for the conventional gene gun. This new barrel can help guide the flow of particles loaded with the biological reagents and hit the targeted tissue with more precision and efficacy. This project will also develop new chemical delivery agents that can further improve the delivery efficiency. The objective of phase I is to develop prototypes for a new gene gun barrel and delivery agent that can be used for improving the gene delivery and editing efficiency for energy crops. In collaboration with plant biologists, the prototypes will be tested with the bioenergy crop switchgrass. The project will offer the researchers and industry new tools to more effectively edit genes for a broad range of plant cells and tissues. These inventions will significantly simplify the procedure and shorten the time for breeding plants with desirable traits. Fast-growing bioenergy crops can be produced to capture atmospheric carbon and turn it into biofuels to fight the climate challenge and improve the nationĺs energy security. These improved tools will allow both academia and industry to better address the challenges in meeting the growing global demand for food, feed, and pharmaceuticals.