Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jian-Kang Zhu.
Systematic comparison of Cas12i gene-editing tools in tomato identifies Cas-SF01 as the most efficient variant, achieving editing efficiencies comparable to conventional Cas9 at some genomic sites and providing a compact, highly specific, and versatile tool for studying gene function, engineering fruit metabolism, and developing improved tomato varieties through precision breeding.
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This study introduces an intronic artificial microRNA (IamiRNA) strategy that combines CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knock-in with endogenous miRNA processing for targeted gene silencing in plants. By inserting amiRNA precursors into introns of endogenous genes, this approach enables effective, tissue-specific gene silencing without persistent transgene expression, offering a promising tool for functional genomics and crop improvement.
TnpB, a compact RNA-guided nuclease ancestral to Cas12, is optimized for plant genome editing. A 99-nt enhanced RNA and T5 exonuclease fusion generate TnpBe5, boosting rice editing 2.5-fold. Coupling with a single-strands annealing (SSA)-responsive HYYG surrogate (TnpBmax) enriches edited cells, achieving up to 81.5% efficiency and high homozygosity across rice and tomato.
A stable and efficient transformation system is crucial for functional genomics and trait improvement in soybean. This study developed a tissue culture based genetic transformation system incorporating dual selection (Spectinomycin and RUBY). This system significantly enhances transformation efficiency, shortens the transformation cycle, and demonstrates broad genotype independence, providing a powerful tool for soybean research and breeding.
Spontaneous gain or loss of DNA methylation occurs in plant and animal genomes, and DNA methylation changes can lead to meiotically stable epialleles that generate heritable phenotypic diversity. However, it is unclear whether transgenerational epigenetic stability may be regulated by any cellular factors. Here, we examined spontaneously occurring variations in DNA methylation in wild-type and ros1 mutant Arabidopsis plants that were propagated for ten generations from single-seed descent. We found that the ros1 mutant, which is defective in active DNA demethylation, showed an increased transgenerational epimutation rate. The ros1 mutation led to more spontaneously gained methylation than lost methylation at individual cytosines, compared to the wild type which had similar numbers of spontaneously gained and lost methylation cytosines. Consistently, transgenerational differentially methylated regions were also biased toward hypermethylation in the ros1 mutant. Our results reveal a genetic contribution of the ROS1 DNA demethylase to transgenerational epigenetic stability and suggest that ROS1 may have an unexpected surveillance function in preventing transgenerational DNA methylation increases.