Department of Biotechnology

Plant Transformation & Gene Editing

CRISPR technology is revolutionizing plant breeding. Due to high efficiency and simple design, CRISPR/Cas9 has brought genome engineering in reach of most academic labs, small and medium enterprises. Plant transformation is however a major bottleneck in plant gene editing.

The laboratory of Plant Transformation & Gene Editing studies the biological mechanisms involved in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and plant regeneration, and translates novel insights into plant biotechnology applications.

Research goals

Agrobacterium engineering

In nature, Agrobacteria induce the formation of crown galls or hairy roots on host plants by integrating part of their DNA into the plant genome. They are referred to as nature’s genetic engineers. Pioneered at Ghent University by Marc Van Montagu and Jeff Schell, researchers have harnessed this ability to allow genetic transformation and gene editing of plants. However, susceptibility of plant species and varieties to Agrobacteria varies, necessitating further research and development in this area. Our research focuses on enhancing the efficiency of plant transformation by engineering Agrobacterium strains. This includes gene editing of the Agrobacterium genome itself or optimization of vectors. In addition, we use modern molecular techniques such as interactomics to get more fundamental insight in the interaction between the plant host and Agrobacterial effector proteins.

Base editing Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Rodrigues et al., 2021)

Selected publications

  • Li C.°, Wang L.°, Cseke L.J., Vasconcelos F., Huguet-Tapia J.C., Gassmann W., Pauwels L., White F.F., Dong H. and Yang B.* (2023). Efficient CRISPR-Cas9 based cytosine base editors for phytopathogenic bacteria. Commun. Biol. 6, 56.
  • Rodrigues S.D., Karimi M., Impens L., Van Lerberge E., Coussens G., Aesaert S., Rombaut D., Holtappels D., Ibrahim H.M.M., Van Montagu M.*, Wagemans J., Jacobs T.B., De Coninck B.* and Pauwels L.* (2021). Efficient CRISPR-mediated base editing in Agrobacterium spp. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 118, e2013338118.

Plant regeneration

In current methods for transformation and gene editing of crops such as maize, rice and tomato, explants are co-cultivated with Agrobacteria. After tissue culture, plants are regenerated through the process of somatic embryogenesis or organogenesis. Morphogenic regulators are plant proteins, often transcription factors, that can be used to increase the efficiency of plant regeneration. Our research is focused on the further development of morphogenic regulators and the discovery of additional factors and insights in the process of regeneration. Our aim is to make transformation more efficient, less genotype-dependent and finally allow use of other explants that are more easily available.

Induced somatic embryogenesis in maize

Selected publications

  • Vandeputte, W., Coussens, G., Aesaert, S., Haeghebaert, J., Impens, L., Karimi, M., Debernardi, J.M. and Pauwels, L. (2024) Use of GRF‐GIF chimeras and a ternary vector system to improve maize (Zea mays L.) transformation frequency. The Plant Journal.
  • Aesaert S.°, Impens L.°, Coussens G.°, Van Lerberge E., Vanderhaeghen R., Desmet L., Vanhevel Y., Bossuyt S., Wambua A.N., Van Lijsebettens M., Inzé D., De Keyser E., Jacobs T.B., Karimi M. and Pauwels L.* (2022). Optimized transformation and gene editing of the B104 public maize inbred by improved tissue culture and use of morphogenic regulators. Front. Plant Sci. 13, 883847.


Expertise

Plant transformation, Agrobacterium, T-DNA, plant regeneration, somatic embryogenesis, CRISPR/Cas9, gene editing, cloning, GMO, transgenesis, tomato, rice, maize, sorghum

CRISPR/Cas9 in Crops: Where to Start

Running projects

Publications

Contact information

Please contact professor Laurens Pauwels for more information.