Engineered upstream open reading frames predictably downregulate mRNA translation in plants

Science & Nature

Fine-tuning gene expression is crucial for generating quantitative phenotypic changes and crop improvement. Using CRISPR–Cas base editing and prime editing, we engineered upstream open reading frames — eukaryotic translational control elements — in rice to incrementally downregulate translation to predictable and desired levels.

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Fig. 1: Breeding plants with a predicted phenotype by engineering uORFs.

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Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Xue, C. et al. Tuning plant phenotypes by precise, graded downregulation of gene expression. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01707-w (2023).

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Engineered upstream open reading frames predictably downregulate mRNA translation in plants.
Nat Biotechnol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01729-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01729-4

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