Nature plantsOct 23, 2026

Changing wheat chromosomes by targeting their central regions

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Oct 25, 2026

Abstract

Centromere editing can simultaneously reconfigure up to 11 chromosomes in one generation of hexaploid wheat.

Centromere editing-mediated chromosomal variation utilizes CRISPR-Cas9 to target centromeric retrotransposons.
This method induces widespread reciprocal translocations, with one line exhibiting six events across seven chromosomes.
Translocation chromosomes undergo centromere remodeling, which is associated with their stable maintenance and heritable transmission.
Balanced translocations result in minimal disruption to gene expression and support normal growth in plants.

Simplified

Engineering karyotypes could expand the genetic and breeding potential of crops, but restructuring gigabase-scale polyploid genomes remains challenging. Here we develop centromere editing-mediated chromosomal variation, a strategy using CRISPR-Cas9 to target abundant centromeric retrotransposons in hexaploid wheat. Centromere editing-mediated chromosomal variation efficiently induces simultaneous chromosome cleavage across the genome, generating diverse karyotypic variants and reconfiguring up to 11 chromosomes in one generation. Notably, it produces widespread reciprocal translocations, with one line carrying six events involving seven chromosomes. Newly formed translocation chromosomes undergo centromere remodelling, enabling their relatively stable maintenance and heritable transmission. Moreover, balanced translocations impose minimal transcriptional perturbation and maintaining normal growth. These results establish centromeres as effective sites for chromosome engineering breeding and provide a scalable framework for karyotype redesign in polyploid crops.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Changing wheat chromosomes by targeting their central regions

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the crispr gene editing brief