Xiucai Zhao

TL;DR: A robust CRISPR/Cas9 vector system, utilizing a plant codon optimized Cas9 gene, for convenient and high-efficiency multiplex genome editing in monocot and dicot plants and provides examples of loss-of-function gene mutations in T0 rice and Arabidopsis plants.

TL;DR: In this paper, a new mitochondrial gene, WA352, which originated recently in wild rice, confers the wild abortive male sterility (CMS-WA) because the protein it encodes interacts with the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein COX11.

TL;DR: It is reported that a new mitochondrial gene, WA352, which originated recently in wild rice, confers CMS-WA because the protein it encodes interacts with the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein COX11, and can be suppressed by two restorer-of-fertility genes, suggesting the existence of different mechanisms to counteract deleterious cytoplasmic factors.

TL;DR: A high-efficiency vector system for transgene stacking is developed and used to engineer anthocyanin biosynthesis in rice endosperm, suggesting the potential utility of this toolkit for synthetic biology and improvement of agronomic traits in plants.

TL;DR: It is proved that introduction of a minimal set of four transgenes enables de novo biosynthesis of astaxanthin in the rice endosperm and provides a successful example for synthetic biology in plants and biofortification in crops.