SBIR Phase I: A Gene Targeting System for Plants

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）一期项目旨在开发一种植物同源重组或基因靶向系统。基因靶向为利用植物的生物合成能力生产具有商业价值的化合物提供了巨大的希望。实现该技术的一个主要限制是同源重组的低频率。该项目计划通过使用专有方法在特定目标位点引入染色体断裂来克服这一限制。染色体断裂极大地增强了局部同源重组，并且设计了修饰植物基因以赋予除草剂抗性的实验。这些实验的成功将为开发一种有效的基因靶向系统，用于多种重要作物品种提供基础。这项技术将成为研究基因功能、修改基因组和工程生物合成途径的有力工具。该项目的商业应用将是开发新的作物品种，更好地抵御害虫，提高食品价值，并生产具有工业重要性的化合物。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a homologous recombination or gene targeting system for plants. Gene targeting offers great promise for harnessing the biosynthetic capacity of plants to produce compounds of commercial value. A major limitation in implementing this technology is the low frequency of homologous recombination. This project plans to overcome this limitation through the use of a proprietary method to introduce chromosome breaks at specific target loci. Chromosome breaks greatly enhance localized homologous recombination, and experiments are designed to modify a plant gene to confer herbicide resistance. Success of these experiments will provide the foundation for developing an efficient system of gene targeting for use in a variety of important crop species. This technology will be a powerful tool for studying gene function, modifying genomes, and engineering biosynthetic pathways.The commercial application of this project will be in the development of new crop varieties, that better withstand pests, have enhanced food value, and produce compounds of industrial importance.