美国冷泉港实验室Zachary B. Lippman小组取得一项新突破。他们的最新研究揭示了如何快速定制茄科水果作物以用于城市农业。这一研究成果2019年12月23日在线发表在国际学术期刊《自然—生物技术》上。

研究人员鉴定了调控番茄茎长（SlER）的调节剂，并设计了一种性状叠加策略，该策略将突变的浓缩芽、快速开花（SP5G）和早熟终止（SP）结合起来。应用该策略，通过一步CRISPR-Cas9基因组编辑，将葡萄状番茄植株重组为适合城市农业的小型的、早产的植株。野外种植数据显示其产量可以维持，并且研究人员也在室内耕作系统中证明了其生长能力。仅针对另一茄科植物樱桃中的同一茎长调节剂进行操作也可得到小型的作物。该研究提供的方法可以用于扩充适合城市农业的农作物种类。

据悉，在城市系统中种植农作物可能会减少粮食生产对环境的影响。但是，城市缺少可用土地，产量和可持续性所需的快速农作物循环周期等限制意味着迄今为止，城市农场仅种植莴苣和相关的“绿叶蔬菜” 。适合城市农业结构和产量的新水果品种已被证明难以繁殖。

附：英文原文

Title: Rapid customization of Solanaceae fruit crops for urban agriculture

Author: Choon-Tak Kwon, Jung Heo, Zachary H. Lemmon, Yossi Capua, Samuel F. Hutton, Joyce Van Eck, Soon Ju Park, Zachary B. Lippman

Issue&Volume: 2019-12-23

Abstract: Cultivation of crops in urban environments might reduce the environmental impact of food production1,2,3,4. However, lack of available land in cities and a need for rapid crop cycling, to yield quickly and continuously, mean that so far only lettuce and related ‘leafy green’ vegetables are cultivated in urban farms5. New fruit varieties with architectures and yields suitable for urban farming have proven difficult to breed1,5. We identified a regulator of tomato stem length (SlER) and devised a trait-stacking strategy to combine mutations for condensed shoots, rapid flowering (SP5G) and precocious growth termination (SP). Application of our strategy using one-step CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing restructured vine-like tomato plants into compact, early yielding plants suitable for urban agriculture. Field data confirmed that yields were maintained, and we demonstrated cultivation in indoor farming systems. Targeting the same stem length regulator alone in groundcherry, another Solanaceae plant, also enabled engineering to a compact stature. Our approach can expand the repertoire of crops for urban agriculture.

DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0361-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-019-0361-2