Journal of Northern Agriculture ›› 2026, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (3): 1-12.doi: 10.12190/j.issn.2096-1197.2026.03.01

• Crop genetics and breeding·Molecular biology •     Next Articles

Improvement of aroma traits in Qianjing 184 via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of Badh2 gene

LI Fan, CHEN Chun, GUO Xinya, WANG Feifei, SHI Yuliang, CHEN Weijun   

  1. Suqian Institute of Agricultural Sciences,Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Suqian 223800,China
  • Received:2025-11-12 Revised:2026-04-08 Online:2026-06-20 Published:2026-08-11

Abstract: 【Objective】To improve the aroma traits of self-bred high-quality japonica rice Qianjing 184 and further enhance its eating quality.【Methods】The editing site was identified in the third exon sequence of the betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase homologue 2(Badh2) gene. The CRISPR/Cas9 elements were constructed and introduced into the calli of Qianjing 184 via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The Badh2 mutant lines with different mutation types were obtained and the aroma traits and key agronomic traits of the homozygous mutants were detected and analyzed.【Results】A total of thirteen T0 generation mutant lines were obtained by targeted editing of Badh2 in Qianjing 184 using CRISPR/Cas9 system. After genetic purification,four T1 homozygous mutant lines(Badh2-1,Badh2-2,Badh2-3,Badh2-4) without CRISPR/Cas9 editing elements were obtained. Compared with wild-type Qianjing 184,the Badh2 gene of the four mutant lines carried a 5 bp deletion,1 bp insertion,1 bp deletion and 2 bp deletion,respectively. The results of agronomic trait phenotypic identification showed that except for plant height in Badh2-3,which was significantly lower than that of the wild-type(P<0.05),the plant heights of Badh2-1,Badh2-2,and Badh2-4 showed no significant differences from that of the wild-type(P>0.05);the grain length,grain width,grain number per panicle,1 000-grain weight and seed setting rate of the four mutants were not significantly different from those of the wild-type(P>0.05). After identification,the grains and leaves of the four mutants had obvious aroma,and the content of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in the grains was extremely significantly increased(P<0.01),reaching 1.52,1.40,1.41 and 1.49 mg/kg,respectively,while the wild-type grains and leaves had no aroma.【Conclusion】The four Badh2 mutant lines of Qianjing 184 all exhibit significant aroma enhancement,and the key agronomic traits of the other mutants are not significantly affected except Badh2-3,indicating that targeted editing at this site via CRISPR/Cas9 technology can be applied to improve aroma quality of japonica rice varieties.

Key words: Rice, Qianjing 184, CRISPR/Cas9, Badh2, Aroma, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline

CLC Number: 

  • S511.22