Scientists led by Associate Professor Dr. Hiroshi Hisano from Okayama
University, Japan, have developed gene-edited barley that resists
pre-harvest sprouting usingCRISPR-Cas9.

Farmers are faced with sprouted barley when unexpected rains come before
the harvest season. Sprouted barley fetches lower market prices and is a
burden to farmers. Pre-harvest sprouting can be avoided by prolonged
grain dormancy through genetic manipulation. However, such dormancy
interferes with malt production and causes non-uniform germination upon
sowing.

Previous studies have identified specific grain and seed dormancy genes
in barley, called Qsd1, and Qsd2. Dr. Hisano's team used CRISPR-Cas9 to
achieve the â??perfect' barley. They genetically manipulated samples of
â??Golden Promise' barley using CRISPR-Cas9 to be either single mutants
(qsd1, or qsd2), or double mutants (qsd1 and qsd2). Then, they proceeded
to perform germination assays on all mutants and non-mutated samples.
All the mutants showed delayed germination. Also, all mutants showed
abscisic acid build-up, consistent with conditions observed with delayed
germination.

Cheers! Better Beer From CRISPR Gene-Edited Barley (scitechdaily.com)
[scitechdaily.com]