2026-06-05 中国科学院（CAS）
◆研究チームはまず、Twin Prime Editingを利用した新たな遺伝子破壊技術「TKO」を開発し、イネ・コムギ・トウモロコシで高効率な遺伝子ノックアウトを実証した。イネ再生個体では単一遺伝子の破壊効率が平均96.8％に達した。さらに、最大10遺伝子を同時編集できる直交型TKOシステムを構築し、多重編集時でも高い効率を維持した。これを基盤として、遺伝子破壊と塩基置換・挿入・欠失などを同時実施できるTRIM1、および大規模DNA挿入や染色体転座などを可能にするTRIM2を開発した。
◆TRIMは複数の有利な対立遺伝子を迅速に集積できるため、イネなど単子葉作物における複雑形質の高精度育種を大きく加速する技術として期待される。
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research-news/202606/t20260602_1160352.shtml
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-026-03174-5
ツインプライム編集システムを用いた単子葉植物における多重化精密ゲノム編集 Multiplexed, precise genome engineering in monocots with twin prime editing systems
Hongchao Li,Zhuangzhuang Chai,Xiaoli Shi,Chao Sun,Rui Zhang,Qiao Zhang,Zhenyu Li,Kang Zhang,Yuan Lei & Caixia Gao
Nature Biotechnology Published:05 June 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-026-03174-5
Abstract
Simultaneously introducing diverse genomic edits remains a challenge in crop genome engineering. Here we describe a twin prime editing-based knockout (TKO) system that installs stop codon clusters (SCCs) for precise translational termination with minimal in-frame mutations. TKO achieves knockout efficiencies of up to 70.5%, 58.6% and 75.1% in rice, maize and wheat protoplasts, respectively, and produces heritable knockout alleles in 96.8% of regenerated rice plants. In hexaploid wheat, TKO outperforms Cas9 4.2-fold in generating triple-homolog knockouts, largely by reducing in-frame mutations. Orthogonal TKO editors with sequence-divergent SCCs enable simultaneous knockout of up to ten genes without cross-interference. Integration of TKO with conventional prime editing establishes TRIM1 (TKO editor-enabled gene rupture and development of integrated multitype genome modification system) for simultaneous knockout and precise editing, achieving a 22.8% coediting of four genes in rice. TRIM2 extends this capacity to kilobase-scale modifications through a prime editor–recombinase system, enabling a 4.9-kb insertion (1.2% efficiency) and gene knockout (up to 79.8%) in protoplasts.
