OsSWEET family encodes sugar transporters which are involved in the
bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease. In a study published in the Journal of
Agriculture and Rural Development, promoter OsSWEET14 was isolated from
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) susceptible TBR225 rice variety. The
1392-bp isolated DNA sequence contains four cis acting elements recognized
specifically by Xoo TAL proteins, including TalC, Tal5, PthXa3 and AvrXa7.
OsSWEET14-TBR225 showed the similarity of 99% and 100% to OsSWEET14 of
GeneBank-registered Japonica (Niponbare, AP014967.1) and Indica (Shuhui498,
CP018167.1) varieties, respectively. Based on the isolated DNA sequence,
three gRNAs were designed for modifying the TAL effector binding sites on
the OsSWEET14 promoter and knockouting the OsSWEET14 gene using CRISPR-Cas9
technology in order to enhance the resistance of TBR225 rice veriety.

The research can be used as basis for generating BLB disease resistant and
high yielding rice varieties using genome editing technology in Vietnam.

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