A Novel Method to Construct Binary CRISPR Vectors for Plant Transformation by Single Round of PCR Amplification.

Abstract

CRISPR/Cas9 is an established and flexible tool for genome editing. However, most methods used to generate expression clones for the CRISPR/Cas9 are time-consuming. Hence, we have developed a one-step protocol to introduce sgRNA expression cassette(s) directly into binary vectors ( Liu et al., 2020 ). In this approach, we have optimized the multiplex PCR to produce an overlapping PCR product in a single reaction to generate the sgRNA expression cassette. We also amplified two sgRNA expression cassettes through a single round of PCR. Then, the sgRNA expression cassette(s) is cloned into the binary vectors in a Gateway LR or Golden gate reaction. The system reported here provides a much more efficient and simpler procedure to construct expression clones for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. In this protocol, we describe the detailed step-by-step instructions for using this system.