Global food demand is growing rapidly, but farmers and plant breeders are struggling to keep up. Traditional methods to create improved crops that produce more food or resist diseases take a very long time, sometimes up to 10 years and longer for a single new variety. Advanced tools like CRISPR, which allow precise changes to plant DNA, can speed up this process. However, these tools are often too expensive for most breeders, which limits innovation.
Our project introduces CRISPR4ALL, an affordable and efficient alternative for gene editing. CRISPR4ALL is a very unusual Cas protein, significantly different in its makeup from most other Cas proteins, which makes it both innovative and unique. Within this project, we will improve the protein’s activity in plants using protein engineering, supported by bacterial screening systems and different plant systems to verify enhanced editing. We will demonstrate its potential by improving tomatoes and potatoes, showing how it can help breeders develop crops faster and at lower costs.
By making cutting-edge technology more accessible, CRISPR4ALL has the potential to revolutionize plant breeding. With its broad applications in all crops, it can empower breeders to innovate, reduce costs, and create better crops that sustainably feed a growing global population.
