Thursday, November 19, 2020

4 – 5.30 p.m.

On Zoom

 

Genome editing with programmable nucleases in crop plants

By Professor Caixia Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Abstract

 

Since the prokaryote-derived CRISPR–Cas technology began to be exploited for the purpose of genome editing, it has altered plant molecular biology beyond all expectations. With its robust and highly target-specific and programmable characteristics, CRISP–Cas allows precise genetic manipulation of crop species, which provides the opportunity to create germplasms with beneficial traits and to develop novel, more sustainable agricultural systems. Furthermore, the numerous emerging biotechnologies based on the CRISPR–Cas platform have enlarged the toolbox of basic research and plant synthetic biology. The use of CRISPR in agriculture should be considered as simply a new breeding method that can produce identical results to conventional methods in a much more predictable, faster and even cheaper manner.

 

About the speaker

Caixia Gao is Principal Investigator of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB), Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prior to joining IGDB in 2009, she served as Research Scientist of DLF’s biotechnology group in Denmark, where she worked in plant genetic transformation and molecular biology. She completed her Ph.D. in Plant Genetics from China Agricultural University, Beijing. Her current research area focuses on developing novel technologies to achieve efficient and specific genome engineering, and applying them to study the function of genes and modify plant traits for high-quality, disease resistance and stress tolerance in crop species.