CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing of the fatty acid desaturase 2 gene in Brassica napus.

The CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9-mediated genome editing system has been widely applied as a powerful tool for modifying preferable endogenous genes. This system is highly expected to be further applied for the breeding of various agronomically important plant species. Here we report the modification of a fatty acid desaturase 2 gene (FAD2), which encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the desaturation of oleic acid, in Brassica napus cv. Westar using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Two guide RNAs were designed for BnaA.FAD2.a (FAD2_Aa). Of 22 regenerated shoots with FAD2_Aa editing vectors, three contained mutant alleles. Further analysis revealed that two of three mature plants (Aa1#13 and Aa2#2) contained the mutant alleles. The mutant fad2_Aa allele had a 4-bp deletion, which was inherited by backcross progenies (BC) in the Aa1#13 line. Furthermore, plants with the fad2_Aa allele without transgenes were selected from the BC progenies and plants homozygous for fad2_Aa were then produced by self-crossing these BC progenies (BCS). Fatty acid composition analysis of their seeds revealed a statistically significant increase in the content of oleic acid compared with that in wild-type seeds. These results showed that the application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system is useful to produce desirable mutant plants with an agronomically suitable phenotype by modifying the metabolic pathway in B. napus.