A new plant‑biology method dramatically shortens the time to produce transgenic and gene‑edited plants, reducing a process that typically takes months to just weeks. The technique injects edited DNA plus growth‑promoting bacteria into pruned plants and uses natural wound‑driven regeneration to recover edited shoots instead of relying on slow tissue culture. Published in Molecular Plant, the advance could accelerate development of pest‑resistant and climate‑resilient crops, though broader testing and regulatory review are still needed.
New Technique Cuts Gene‑Editing Time From Months to Weeks — Could Speed Development of Climate‑Ready Crops
Photo Credit: iStock
Researchers report a plant‑biology advance that can dramatically shorten the time required to produce transgenic and gene‑edited plants — shrinking a process that often takes months down to weeks. The work, published in the journal Molecular Plant and reported by Cell Press, describes a practical shortcut that could accelerate crop improvement for pests, diseases and extreme weather.
How the Method Works
The team injects edited DNA together with growth‑promoting bacteria directly into pruned plants, then takes advantage of plants' natural, wound‑driven regeneration. Instead of editing a single cell and regenerating a whole plant through slow tissue culture, researchers recover edited shoots from existing plant material — eliminating the lengthy initial growth phase and improving turnaround time.
Why It Matters
The faster workflow could allow scientists and breeders to respond more quickly to emerging pests, disease outbreaks and sudden climate‑related threats. Invasive pests already cause billions of dollars in agricultural losses each year; speeding up gene editing could make crops more resistant to attackers or less attractive as hosts. Similarly, the approach may accelerate development of varieties that tolerate prolonged heat, unexpected cold snaps, or require less water or land.
Limitations and Next Steps
While promising, the technique requires broader testing across different crop species and varieties. Researchers will also need to evaluate long‑term stability of edits, field performance, and regulatory and public‑acceptance pathways before widespread deployment.
"This innovation has the potential to redefine how we create next‑generation, improved crop varieties," said Gunvant Patil, the study's senior author and a plant genomicist, according to Cell Press.
Overall, the method represents a potentially important tool for breeding and biotechnology that could help protect food supplies and speed development of climate‑resilient crops — but further validation and regulatory work remain essential.
Help us improve.
