The Omega project aims to use CRISPR/Cas and the moss Physcomitrium patens to develop a synthetic biology platform to modify plant genomes at the megabase (Mb) scale. The main objectives of this project are to (1) perform a genome-wide CRISPR screen to determine gene essentiality in lab conditions, (2) find an approach to perform precise and efficient Mb deletions of non-coding DNA, and (3) use site-specific recombination for genomic restructuring.

While CRISPR systems are generally effective, there can be a wide range of gene-editing efficiencies, depending on the plant species and/or method of delivery. For example, our experience is that base editors are unpredictable, and most target sites are non-functional. To increase gene editing frequencies and improve the recovery of useful, gene-edited plants, the group is focused on the entire gene-editing workflow, from optimizing protocols to vector components and downstream analysis and isolation of mutants of interest.