Oleic acid accumulating Camelina produced by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing

Abstract : The possibility of selectively engineering gene dosage, particularly in polyploid genomes, would provide an efficient tool for plant breeding. The hexaploid oilseed crop Camelina sativa, which has three closely-related expressed sub-genomes, is an ideal species for the creation of a large collection of combinatorial mutants. Selective, targeted mutagenesis of the three delta-12-desaturase (FAD2) genes was achieved by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, leading to reduced levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and increased accumulation of oleic acid in the oil (Morineau et al. in press).