Low frequency of zinc-finger nuclease-induced mutagenesis in Populus

Gene flow from recombinant-DNA-modified (GMO) trees is a major barrier to their public acceptance and regulatory approval. Because many intensively grown trees are vegetatively propagated, complete sexual sterility could be a powerful means to mitigate or prevent gene flow. We tested four pairs of zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) as mutagenic agents against the LEAFY and AGAMOUS orthologs in poplar that are expected to be required for sexual fertility. To reduce the potential for pleiotropic effects from mutagenesis, each of the pairs was functionally linked to a heat shock promoter to provide inducible ZFN expression. Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens, we transformed more than 21,000 total explants compromised of both male and female hybrid poplar. The rate of transformation for the ZFN constructs (2 %) was generally reduced compared to the transgenic control (8 %). We produced 391 ZFN transgenic shoots of which only two developed into plants with mutations in a target gene; both were 7-bp deletions in one allele of the PtAG2 locus. No mutations were observed in the PtAG1 or PtLFY loci. Our results indicate a mutation rate of zero to 0.3 % per explant per allele, among the lowest reported for ZFN mutagenesis in plants. The combined effects of low recovery of transgenic plants, a modest mutation frequency, and much higher reported rates of directed mutation for other gene editing methods suggest that the efficient use of ZFNs in poplar requires further technical improvements.