QTL editing confers opposing yield performance in different rice varieties

Abstract

Grain yield is one of the most important and complex trait for genetic improvement in crops; it is known to be controlled by a number of genes known as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). In the past decade, many yield-contributing QTLs have been identified in crops. However, it remains unclear whether those QTLs confer the same yield performance in different genetic backgrounds. Here, we performed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated QTL editing in five widely-cultivated rice varieties and revealed that the same QTL can have diverse, even opposing, effects on grain yield in different genetic backgrounds.