Engineering in hairy roots using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing

Abstract

Agrobacterium rhizogenes is a well characterized bacterium for “hairy root induction” due to presence of Ri plasmid. Ri plasmid has been modified and engineered with required foreign genes and used as a binary vector for plant genetic transformation. A. rhizogenes-mediated hairy root induction and cultures of recalcitrant plant species are useful in genetic and metabolic engineering for secondary metabolite and recombinant protein production. With the advancement of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools, plant genome can be easily manipulated for metabolic engineering. However, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing requires efficient A. rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation and selection. In this chapter, we discussed the different essential component of CRISPR/Cas9 editing tools. Different types of CRISPR/Cas9 vectors are now available for various purposes such as disruption, replacement, transcriptional activators, and inhibitors of desired gene.