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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/SAgri/26
Targeting S genes for wheat crop improvement

1*
Muhammad Sajjad and Muhammad Salman Mubarik 2
1 Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad
2 Department of Biotechnology, University of Narowal

Correspondence: muhammad.sajjad@comsats.edu.pk
Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L., AABBDD, 2n = 6x = 42) is among world's most significant
essential food crops. Given the fact that wheat yield has improved dramatically in recent years,
future wheat production will confront enormous problems because of climate change and a
growing worldwide population. Enhancing the resilience of wheat production through genome
editing is critical for ensuring global food security. To improve wheat breeding, researchers
need to knockout genes that are vulnerable to grain yield, biotic and abiotic stresses using
CRISPR/Cas systems. Through meta-analysis ,15, 33, 16 S genes (susceptible genes) were
identified for grain yield, biotic and abiotic stresses, respectively. Furthermore, these S genes
were re-mapped on the latest wheat reference genome sequence IWGSv2.1. The protein
sequences of biotic stress related S genes were retrieved, multiple sequence alignment (MSA)
was done, and phylogenetic tree was generated. For designing of efficient guide RNA (gRNA),
S genes with strong proof of concept were selected. To proceed with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated
genome editing in wheat, gRNA with appropriate adaptors will be synthesized and used for
CRISPR vector construction. Finally, the current challenges of wheat genome editing were
highlighted, as well as the opportunities for highly precise gene manipulation using
sophisticated genome-editing technologies. The success stories proved that CRISPR-based
genome editing will ramp up ongoing wheat research in order to
enhance sustainable agricultural production.
Keywords: S genes; gRNA; MSA; CRISPR.

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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