RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 CRISPR-Cas9 interference in cassava linked to the evolution of editing-resistant geminiviruses
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 314542
DO 10.1101/314542
A1 Devang Mehta
A1 Alessandra Stürchler
A1 Matthias Hirsch-Hoffmann
A1 Wilhelm Gruissem
A1 Hervé Vanderschuren
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/04/314542.abstract
AB We used CRISPR-Cas9 in the staple food crop cassava with the aim of engineering resistance to African cassava mosaic virus, a member of a widespread and important family of plant-pathogenic DNA viruses. We found that between 33 and 48% of edited virus genomes evolved a conserved single-nucleotide mutation that confers resistance to CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage. Our study highlights the potential for virus escape from this technology. Care should be taken to design CRISPR-Cas9 experiments that minimize the risk of virus escape.