Enhanced root suberin deposition for drought resilience in crops

Overview

This research program aims to improve drought resilience in crops by genetically enhancing suberin deposition in the root exodermis, a waxy biopolymer layer that controls water loss. Suberin acts as a natural barrier regulating water and nutrient movement in plant roots. The team has identified novel transcriptional regulators of exodermal suberin biosynthesis in tomato and demonstrated that loss-of-function mutations significantly increase water loss under drought conditions. By engineering overexpression of these regulators, the goal is to increase suberin accumulation, thereby improving drought resistance and carbon sequestration in crop species. This work addresses the urgent need for water-efficient crops in the face of climate change and provides a proof-of-principle for engineering drought tolerance using a naturally occurring biopolymer.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Identification of 23 predicted regulators of root suberin biosynthesis using RNAseq data from drought-stressed and well-watered tomato roots, drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive tomato relatives, and cell type-specific root expression data
• Functional validation of top candidates using CRISPR-induced mutations in hairy roots, with the top 7 progressed to stable CRISPR-edited mutant lines
• Two characterized mutants show greatly reduced suberin levels and significantly increased water loss under drought compared to wild type
• Planned development of transgenic lines with three expression strategies: overexpression, exodermis-specific expression, and drought-inducible cassettes for two transcription factors
• Potential dual benefits of improved drought tolerance and enhanced carbon sequestration in soil

Technology readiness level

The technology is currently at proof-of-concept stage in a model crop (tomato). Key regulatory genes have been identified and validated through CRISPR mutagenesis, with clear phenotypes demonstrated for water loss under drought. The next phase involves generating stable transgenic overexpression lines and evaluating their performance under drought conditions over approximately 1.5 years. The team is actively seeking partnerships to support funding, assist with stable transgenic line generation in tomato, provide guidance on yield and productivity assessment, and advise on extending the technology to other crops for agricultural and carbon sequestration applications.