Applying CRISPR/Cas to plants: From gene editing to chromosome engineering

Breeding requires the breaking or establishing genetic linkages. Using Cas9, we were able to change genetic linkages by inducing heritable translocations between heterologous chromosomes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, inversions of up to almost chromosome size can be achieved by CRISPR/Cas to control meiotic recombination. Thus, on one side a recombination dead region could be reactivated after 5000 years by reverting a natural inversion and on the other almost a complete chromosome could be excluded from genetic exchange. In future, CRISPR/Cas-mediated chromosomal engineering will allow us to restructure plant genomes according to our needs for breeding.