Herbicide resistance has always been a rigid demand of modern agriculture. Faced with the increasingly serious problem of weed resistance around the world, scientists are looking for new solutions.
On June 4, 2025, a study published in Trends in Plant Science proposed a subversive idea: "Epigenome editing for herbicide-resistant crops". Using CRISPR/dCas9 epigenome editing technology, crops can be made herbicide-resistant without changing the DNA sequence!
Herbicide-resistant weeds have spread all over the world. This widespread distribution of resistance is threatening global food security and urgently requires new technological breakthroughs.
Traditional herbicide-resistant crop development relies mainly on two methods: conventional breeding and transgenic technology. Conventional breeding is time-consuming and resource-intensive; although transgenic technology is effective, it faces challenges in public acceptance and regulation.
Here we have to introduce today's protagonist - CRISPR/dCas9 technology. Unlike the well-known CRISPR/Cas9 "gene scissors", dCas9 is a "blunted" version. It does not cut DNA, but acts like a precise "gene switch".
The CRISPR/dCas9 system can regulate gene expression in two ways:
The key is that the whole process does not change the DNA sequence itself, but only regulates the "on" or "off" of the gene through epigenetic modification.
The paper proposes three strategies for achieving herbicide resistance using CRISPR/dCas9.
The traditional method of directly knocking out sensitive genes is likely to affect the normal growth of plants, because target enzymes such as ALS and EPSPS are essential in plant metabolism.
The cleverness of CRISPR/dCas9 is that it can achieve "conditional silencing" - inhibiting these genes only when herbicides are applied or in specific tissues, which not only ensures resistance but also maintains the normal physiological functions of plants.
The core of this strategy is to enhance the plant's own "detoxification ability". Activating key detoxification enzyme genes through CRISPR/dCas9, such as:
It's like equipping plants with a more powerful "detoxification system" that allows them to quickly metabolize and decompose herbicides.
By regulating the expression of carriers such as ABC transporters, it is possible to:
The study compares the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies in detail. The unique advantages of CRISPR epigenetic editing include:
Unlike permanent gene modification, epigenetic modification is reversible, leaving room for subsequent optimization.
Multiple genes can be regulated at the same time to achieve more precise resistance control.
Avoids the unpredictable consequences that may be caused by traditional gene editing.
In some countries, they may not be classified as a genetically modified crop, and the regulation is relatively loose.
The authors pointed out that studies have used CRISPR base editing technology to achieve an A-G base conversion efficiency of up to 59.1% in rice and wheat, and successfully created herbicide-resistant strains. This lays the foundation for the application of epigenetic editing technology.
Of course, this technology also faces challenges. The stability of epigenetic modifications is the biggest concern - will resistance be lost as it is passed down from generation to generation? The uncertainty of regulatory policies also needs to be further clarified. Although off-target effects are less risky than traditional gene editing, more precise tools are still needed.
Excitingly, the paper also proposed the concept of "epigenetic multi-editing", that is, editing multiple resistance-related epigenetic sites in a crop at the same time to create "super crops" that can resist multiple herbicides and environmental stresses.
Even more interestingly, the paper mentioned that combining artificial intelligence with epigenetic editing technology can:
Figure 1. CRISPR-mediated genome editing technology. (Sen, et al., 2025)
This study paints an exciting future for us: Through precise epigenetic regulation, we may create crop varieties that are both high-yielding and stress-resistant, making crops more "smart" without changing the essence of genes.
Although there is still a long way to go from the laboratory to the field, this mild gene regulation method may really be a key to solving the problem of global food security.
| Cat# | Product Name | Size |
| ACC-100 | GV3101 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-103 | EHA105 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-105 | AGL1 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-107 | LBA4404 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-108 | EHA101 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-117 | Ar.Qual Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-118 | MSU440 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-119 | C58C1 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-121 | K599 Chemically Competent Cell | 10 tubes (100μL/tube) 20 tubes (100μL/tube) 50 tubes (100μL/tube) 100 tubes (100μL/tube) |
| ACC-122 | Ar.A4 Electroporation Competent Cell | 10 tubes (50μL/tube) 20 tubes (50μL/tube) 50 tubes (50μL/tube) |
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