Copyright Interesting Engineering
A team of plant biotechnologists at Texas Tech University has unveiled a breakthrough that could transform how gene-edited crops are developed. The new method, led by associate professor Gunvant Patil, dramatically reduces the time needed to regenerate plants and eliminates one of the biggest bottlenecks in biotechnology, tissue culture. The study introduces a synthetic regeneration system that enables plants to grow new shoots directly from wounded tissue. This innovation could cut months off the traditional process of creating improved, gene-edited crops. “Plant regeneration has always been the bottleneck in biotechnology,” said Patil. “Our approach unlocks the plant’s own natural ability to regrow after injury, allowing us to directly induce new, gene-edited shoots without spending months in tissue culture. This could fundamentally change how we develop improved crops.” In standard genetic engineering, researchers regenerate an entire plant from a single cell through a long, expensive, and genotype-sensitive process. Patil’s team decided to take a different path by reprogramming the plant’s natural wound-healing system. Graduate student Arjun Ojha Kshetry and colleagues combined two key genes: WIND1, which reprograms cells near a wound, and isopentenyl transferase (IPT), which produces hormones that trigger new shoot growth. Together, they created a self-contained regeneration cascade that allows the plant to rebuild itself, now carrying the desired genetic changes. “This system works like turning on a hidden switch in the plant,” Patil said. “When we activate the wound-response genes, the plant essentially starts rebuilding itself, this time carrying the desired genetic changes.” The system works across multiple species, including tobacco, tomatoes, and soybeans, showing higher regeneration rates than many existing techniques. Even in soybeans, a notoriously difficult crop to modify, the method achieved efficient gene editing with minimal tissue culture steps. The Texas Tech method also integrates seamlessly with CRISPR-based genome editing, enabling precise genetic changes in a single step. The result is a faster, cheaper, and more accessible way to produce transgenic plants directly on the parent plant itself. “This is a significant step toward democratizing plant biotechnology,” said Luis Herrera-Estrella, co-author and director of Texas Tech’s Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance (IGCAST). “By reducing dependence on tissue culture and specialized lab facilities, this system could make genetic innovation possible for many more crops and research programs worldwide.” The breakthrough not only improves efficiency but also expands the potential for wider participation in crop innovation, especially in institutions with limited lab resources. Toward global food security Texas Tech scientists see this development as a major leap for sustainable agriculture. By accelerating the pace of genetic innovation, the approach could help breed more resilient, nutrient-efficient, and disease-resistant crops, supporting global food security. “The development of a tissue-culture-free transformation system represents a major leap forward for agricultural research,” said Clint Krehbiel, dean of the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “This breakthrough not only accelerates crop improvement but also demonstrates how our faculty and students are addressing some of the most pressing challenges in global food security and sustainable production.” The team plans to adapt the system for other major food and energy crops, including cereals and legumes, and integrate it further with precision genome editing. “Our ultimate goal is to develop a universal platform for plant transformation, one that cuts the time from discovery to improved crop variety by half or more,” Patil said. The study is published in the journal Molecular Plant.
