Functional Analysis of Coilin in Virus Resistance and Stress Tolerance of Potato Solanum tuberosum using CRISPR-Cas9 Editing

The role of the nuclear protein coilin in the mechanisms of resistance of potato Solanum tuberosum cultivar Chicago to biotic and abiotic stresses was studied using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. For the coilin gene editing, a complex consisting of the Cas9 endonuclease and a short guide RNA was immobilized on gold or chitosan microparticles and delivered into apical meristem cells by bioballistics or vacuum infiltration methods, respectively. Editing at least one allele of the coilin gene considerably increased the resistance of the edited lines to infection with the potato virus Y and their tolerance to salt and osmotic stress.