STTR Phase I: Genome Editing in Loblolly Pine for Sustainable Fiber Production in the Southern United States

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过生物研究支持国内木材工业，特别是火炬松。拟议的项目将林业纳入了新兴的基因组编辑科学的范围，并产生了强大的影响。增强的特性使纸浆和纸张制造业的商业实体能够节省能源和化学成本;纸浆和纸张设施可以将成本降低高达6%，这对于提供日常用品的行业来说是例外，例如卫生纸和纸板，利润率很低。此外，树木在固碳方面发挥着重要作用，但它们需要在温度变化和潜在的虫害中生存下来。随着拟议技术的进步，编辑森林最终可能会被接受为生物资源可持续性和碳封存的重要途径。拟议项目将树木遗传学的见解与基因组编辑的力量相结合，以生成具有功能属性的增强基因型，从而改善树木的生长，加工和可持续性。基于负责相关物种中具有商业利益的表型的基因的集成预测模型，可以选择负责增强的表型的基因组编辑靶标的组合，例如木质素含量和胡萝卜素/愈创木基比率，以调节树木的组成，从而增加其加工倾向、其环境适应性或有价值的商业特征。利用基于CRISPR的基因组编辑技术，该项目将同时多重靶向这些基因序列，以产生预期的遗传改变组合，利用专业知识交付商业相关的精英种质。传统的林业育种是缓慢和繁琐的，因为树木的世代时间长，每个育种周期需要几十年。目前没有其他可行的技术来加速林木的遗传改良。利用这项技术，一年生作物可以在一年两次或一年一次的周期内高效地培育，并具有与传统作物相同或更好的特性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project is to support the domestic lumber industry, specifically for loblolly pine, through biological research. The proposed project brings forestry within the scope of the emerging science of genome editing with powerful impacts. Enhanced traits allow commercial entities in pulp and paper manufacturing to save energy and chemical costs; a pulp and paper facility can potentially reduce costs by up to 6%, exceptional for an industry that provides everyday items, such as hygienic tissue and cardboard for deliveries, at thin profit margins. Furthermore, trees play an important role in carbon sequestration, but they need to survive the temperature changes and potential infestations. With the advance of the proposed technology, editing forests could eventually gain acceptance as a significant avenue to bioresource sustainability and carbon sequestration.The proposed project combines the insights of tree genetics with the power of genome editing to generate enhanced genotypes with functional attributes that improve tree growth, processing and sustainability. Based on an integrated predictive model of genes responsible for phenotypes of commercial interest in relevant species, it is possible to select combinations of genome editing targets responsible for enhanced phenotypes, such as lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl ratio, to modulate the composition of trees as to increase their propensity for processing, their environmental resilience, or valuable commercial features. Using CRISPR-based genome editing technologies, the project will multiplex target these genetic sequences concurrently to generate the intended genetic alteration combinations, using expertise in delivery to commercially relevant elite germplasm. Conventional breeding in forestry is slow and cumbersome because the long generation time of trees requires decades per breeding cycle. No alternative technology is currently feasible for accelerated genetic improvement of forest trees. With the proposed technology, annual crops can be efficiently bred on biannual or annual cycles with the same or improved properties as their conventionally-bred counterparts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.