CRISPR-Based Editing of the Gene.

gene is shown to have numerous diverse functions in plant development, including the regulation of embryo morphogenesis and maturation, hypocotyl elongation, flowering transition, etc. However, the functions of orthologs in different plant species have not been extensively studied. In this study, we obtained a line of , a model leguminous plant, carrying the loss-of-function mutation in the gene, orthologous to , using the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR/Cas9) genome editing system. Edited plants with loss of function did not demonstrate any severe abnormalities during their normal growth and gave viable seeds, but their capability for somatic embryogenesis in vitro was dramatically reduced. The T1 progeny of unedited plants with a Cas9-gRNA cassette insertion was also analyzed based on the suggestion that editing could occur during seed formation. However, no edited plants were found in the T1 generation. These results suggest divergent functions of orthologs and make it possible to investigate potential specific functions.