Heterozygous CENH3 monocots and methods of use thereof for haploid induction and simultaneous genome editing

Abstract

Monocot plants heterozygous for centromeric histone 3 (CenH3) and optionally expressing gene editing constructs, for use in inducing haploids of a monocot target plant and optionally pass-through gene editing are provided. The monocot haploid inducer plants are typically composed of diploid plant cells having only one allele encoding a functional CENH3 protein. The diploid plant cells can also include, for example, one CenH3 allele encoding non-functional CENH3 protein. In some embodiments, the allele encoding non-functional CENH3 protein is a frameshift mutation, protein null allele, an RNA null allele, or a combination thereof. The monocot haploid inducer plant can also include gene editing machinery, such as a site-directed nuclease and optionally a guide RNA stably expressed by cells of the monocot plant. Methods of inducing formation of a target haploid monocot plant while optionally simultaneously modifying the target monocot plant's genome are also provided.

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