Transgene free gene editing in plants via nanoparticles.

CRISPR/CAS9基因编辑和几种密切相关的技术在过去十年中已经成为生命科学中非常强大的工具，可以对植物和动物基因组进行精确和有针对性的编辑。标准基因编辑的结果与自然发生的遗传变化类型无法区分，并且可以通过传统育种方法在更长的时间内产生。这项强大的技术有可能帮助提供耐胁迫或抗病作物，去除过敏原，并增加食物的营养价值。鉴于这一承诺，英国政府最近宣布，将更容易种植基因编辑植物进行研究和开发，其中引入的遗传变化可以通过传统育种实现。它还预计，基因编辑将在“帮助我们应对粮食系统挑战、气候变化和生物多样性丧失”方面发挥至关重要的作用。虽然基因编辑在作物开发中显示出很大的前景，但有两个关键的限制，这两个限制都是由于植物细胞壁，这使得在正确的时间将所需的组件运送到正确的地方具有挑战性。首先，植物中的大多数基因编辑需要将编码编辑机制的外源DNA整合到植物基因组中，使植物“转基因”，直到可以去除这种机制。第二，更精确的基因编辑形式--提供模板序列来产生精确的编辑--在植物中是不可行的。纳米颗粒是解决这两个限制并改变植物基因编辑的潜在手段。最近已经表明，磁性纳米颗粒可以通过花粉衣中天然存在的小洞或“孔隙”有效地将DNA递送到植物花粉中，同时保持花粉的活力。该博士项目将建立在这种理解的基础上，开发适用于广泛物种的植物基因编辑的变革性技术。该学生将在阿伯里斯特威斯大学学习尖端基因编辑技术，分子和细胞生物学以及超分辨率荧光显微镜。他们将建立能够快速评估基因编辑效率的植物品系，并利用这些品系优化植物基因编辑。该学生还将在贝尔法斯特女王大学药学院与纳米科学和应用化学专家合作，合成和制备具有植物基因编辑特征的纳米颗粒。该项目提供分子植物遗传学，生物技术和应用化学的多学科培训，装备你在一系列科学学科的成功研究生涯无论是在大学或行业。您将在阿伯里斯特威斯大学接受最先进的CRISPR/CAS9基因编辑，分子植物遗传学和超分辨率荧光显微镜的高级培训，并在贝尔法斯特女王大学进行研究实习期间进行纳米颗粒合成。在课程期间，您还将在阿伯里斯特威斯参加一些研究生课程，帮助培养广泛的可转移技能。您将进行具有现实影响力的研究，开发新的变革性技术以促进作物发展，并将受益于具有不同背景和专业知识的优秀主管和合作者团队。您还将有机会向科学界展示您的研究，并提供资金参加至少两次国际会议。

CRISPR/CAS9 gene editing, and several closely related technologies, have emerged in the last decade as an extremely powerful tool in the life sciences, allowing precise and targeted editing of plant and animal genomes. The results of standard gene editing are indistinguishable from the types of genetic changes that occur naturally and that could be generated over much longer time frames by conventional breeding approaches. This powerful technology has the potential to help deliver stress or disease tolerant crops, remove allergens, and increase the nutritional value of foods. In recognition of this promise, the UK government has recently announced it will be making it easier to grow gene edited plants for research and development where the genetic changes introduced could have been achieved by traditional breeding. It also anticipates that gene editing will be vital in "helping us tackle food system challenges, climate change and biodiversity loss... protect our environment and help meet our ambitions on Net Zero and climate adaptation".While gene editing shows much promise in crop development, there are two key limitations, both due to the plant cell wall which makes it challenging to deliver the required components to the right place at the right time. Firstly, most gene editing in plants requires foreign DNA encoding the editing machinery to be integrated into the plant genome making the plants "Genetically Modified" until this machinery can be removed. Secondly, a more precise form of gene editing - where a template sequence is provided to generate exact edits - is not feasible in plants.Nanoparticles are a potential means to solve both of these limitations and transform plant gene editing. It has recently been shown that magnetic nanoparticles can efficiently deliver DNA into plant pollen through small naturally occurring holes or "apertures" in the pollen coat, while maintaining the pollen's viability. This PhD project will build on this understanding to develop transformative techniques for gene editing in plants applicable across a wide range of species.The student will be based at the University of Aberystwyth, learning cutting edge gene-editing techniques, molecular and cell biology and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. They will establish plant lines that enable quick assessment of gene editing efficiencies and use these lines to optimise plant gene editing. The student will also spend time in the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast working with experts in nanoscience and applied chemistry to synthesise and characterise nanoparticles with the right characteristics for plant gene editing.This project offers multidisciplinary training in molecular plant genetics, biotechnology, and applied chemistry, equipping you for a successful research career in range of scientific disciplines either at a university or in industry. You will receive advanced training in state-of-the-art CRISPR/CAS9 gene editing, molecular plant genetics and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy at Aberystwyth University and nanoparticle synthesis during research placements at Queen's University Belfast. You will also undertake a number of post-graduate courses at Aberystwyth during the programme, helping develop a wide set of transferrable skills.You will be conducting research with real-world impact, developing new transformative technology to advance crop development and will benefit from a fantastic team of supervisors and collaborators with diverse backgrounds and expertise. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your research to the scientific community with funding provided to attend at least two international conferences.