Engineering disease-resistant cacao with CRISPR genome editing

Project Overview

We are using CRISPR to engineer cacao that is resistant to infections that threaten global cacao production.

Theobroma cacao—literally translated as "the food of the gods"—is a food crop that is used to make chocolate. In addition to being the source of a beloved treat, growing cacao supports the livelihood of 40–50 million people globally and 90% of cacao comes from small, family farms.

However, cacao is threatened by a number of currently-untreatable diseases that lead to the loss of up to 38% of global cacao harvest annually. Black pod disease, caused by fungus-like parasites, leads to loss of the cacao fruits needed for chocolate production. Cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV) dramatically reduces fruit yield, and eventually kills cacao trees. CSSV is transmitted by insects and currently very hard to control.

We are pursuing multiple CRISPR-based genome-editing and gene-transformation strategies to make cacao plants with more robust immune systems and increased resistance to these infections.

Publications

Screening of cultivars for tissue culture response and establishment of genetic transformation in a high-yielding and disease-resistant cultivar of Theobroma cacao

Jones J, Zhang E, Tucker D, Rietz D, Dahlbeck D, Gomez M, Garcia C, Marelli JP, Livingstone III D, Schnell R, Staskawicz B, and Cho MJ. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant

(2021)