New CRISPR Toolbox Reveals Hidden Gene Functions in Plants

A new study published in Cell Reports introduces a CRISPR‑based method that allows scientists to uncover plant genes that until now were “invisible” due to genetic redundancy – a common phenomenon where several similar genes perform the same job.

Plants like Arabidopsis have many gene families, and when one gene is mutated, others often compensate. This makes it difficult to determine what each gene actually does. The new CRISPR toolbox addresses this challenge by editing several related genes at the same time, and by activating the edits only in specific tissues, enabling safe study of genes that are essential for plant development.

Using this approach, the team created over 1,000 Arabidopsis lines, targeting 707 transporter genes in 114 gene families connected to nutrient uptake. Each line is tagged with a special double‑barcode system, making it easy to track the edited gene combinations. The project also provides a guide‑RNA map and seed bank for researchers worldwide.

The work builds on long‑term research at the Faculty of Life Sciences, which develops genome‑scale CRISPR tools to uncover hidden biological functions and to advance our understanding of nutrient and hormone transport in plants.

The study was led by researchers from the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, including:
Moran Anfang, Reem Haj Yahya, Omer Caldararu, Shir Ben Yaakov, Udi Landau, Amichai Berman, Prof. Itay Mayrose, and Prof. Eilon Shani.

They collaborated with international partners – Prof. Yangjie Hu, Dr. Zeinu Mussa Belew, Dr. Christoph Crocoll, Prof. Deyang Xu, and Prof. Hussam Hassan Nour‑Eldin.

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