Silencing One or Multiple Genes Simultaneously and Simplify Cloning

University of Missouri System: University of Missouri-Columbia
posted on 07/28/2011

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It is estimated that by 2050, there will be at least 9 billion people in the world to feed. As the population increases, the agricultural industry will be expected to find ways to feed the population with fewer resources and less arable land. Thus, it is necessary to research and develop crops with higher yields or improved nutritional values to meet current and future food demands. By genetic engineering, crops can be modified to be drought and stress tolerant, pathogen and disease resistant, less dependent on the use of harmful agrochemicals, and have improved or altered nutritional values. An invention that makes it simpler to make genetically modified plants for plant research or crop production would be highly valuable.

The current invention developed by researchers at the University of Missouri is a platform that makes it simple to use trans-acting small interference RNA (tasiRNA) to silence genes in plants. A novel vector utilizes a single expression cassette as a method of delivering one or more tasiRNAs to plant cells and allows silencing of one or multiple genes simultaneously, simplifying cloning and avoiding the use of additional expression cassettes.

• Post-transcriptional silencing of one or multiple genes in plants
• Research and development of GM crops in private and public laboratories

• Vector designs possess reproducibility, flexibility and ease with the cloning of partial TAS locus carrying siRNA species for gene silencing
• Use of a single expression cassette for complex metabolic engineering
• Other TAS loci can be similarly engineered and used for silencing vectors
• Enable laboratories to subclone TAS fragments and minimize the cost of “GM” regulatory process