Engineering Resilience: Gene Editing Strategies for Combating Plant Diseases

To meet increasing demand for stable crop yields under pathogen pressure, it is critical to develop improved varieties with enhanced disease resilience. Using gene editing tools from our Pairwise Fulcrum™ Platform, we conducted targeted edits of genes involved in susceptibility and immunity networks across major cereal and legume crops. Our editing strategies focused on modifying conserved domains, regulatory elements, targets of pathogen-derived toxins, and protein-protein interaction motifs known to influence plant-pathogen interactions. Target loci were selected to highlight key regulatory and susceptibility nodes in cereals and broadleaf crops. Working with industry collaborators, we conducted multi-environment phenotyping to assess resistance phenotypes and agronomic integrity. Our analyses revealed that edits to select susceptibility factors resulted in improved outcomes under fungal disease pressure; identifying multiple edits that reduced symptom severity across diverse pathosystems. These data highlight the impact of gene editing opportunities in accelerating crop improvement and suggest future opportunities for creating durable disease solutions.