Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34168320›Full record

ArticleNature plants2021

CRISPR-Act3.0 for highly efficient multiplexed gene activation in plants.

Changtian Pan, Xincheng Wu, Kasey Markel, Aimee A Malzahn, Neil Kundagrami, Simon Sretenovic, Yingxiao Zhang, Yanhao Cheng, Patrick M Shih, Yiping Qi

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature plants, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 116 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
116citing papers in PubMed
11.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

116 citing papers in PubMed, 198 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  11. WUSCHEL Transcription Factor: From Stem Cell Maintenance to Crop Improvement.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Review
  12. From Lab to Field: CRISPRing Major CultivatedInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
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56 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Changtian PanDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5852-059X
Xincheng WuDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Kasey MarkelDepartment of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8285-3888
Aimee A MalzahnDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Neil KundagramiDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Simon SretenovicDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3080-5104
Yingxiao ZhangDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Yanhao ChengDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Patrick M ShihDepartment of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2119-3345
Yiping QiDepartment of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. yiping@umd.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-6706
University of Maryland, College Park · USLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · USUniversity of California, Davis · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

RNA-guided CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) systems have been developed in plants. However, the simultaneous activation of multiple genes remains challenging. Here, we develop a highly robust CRISPRa system working in rice, Arabidopsis and tomato, CRISPR-Act3.0, through systematically exploring different effector recruitment strategies and various transcription activators based on deactivated Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (dSpCas9). The CRISPR-Act3.0 system results in fourfold to sixfold higher activation than the state-of-the-art CRISPRa systems. We further develop a tRNA-gR2.0 (single guide RNA 2.0) expression system enabling CRISPR-Act3.0-based robust activation of up to seven genes for metabolic engineering in rice. In addition, CRISPR-Act3.0 allows the simultaneous modification of multiple traits in Arabidopsis, which are stably transmitted to the T3 generations. On the basis of CRISPR-Act3.0, we elucidate guide RNA targeting rules for effective transcriptional activation. To target T-rich protospacer adjacent motifs (PAMs), we transfer this activation strategy to CRISPR-dCas12b and further improve the dAaCas12b-based CRISPRa system. Moreover, we develop a potent near-PAM-less CRISPR-Act3.0 system on the basis of the SpRY dCas9 variant, which outperforms the dCas9-NG system in both activation potency and targeting scope. Altogether, our study has substantially improved the CRISPRa technology in plants and provided plant researchers a powerful toolbox for efficient gene activation in foundational and translational research.

Indexed as

CRISPR-Cas SystemsArabidopsisCrops, AgriculturalGene Expression Regulation, PlantGenetic EngineeringGenetic VariationGenotypeOryzaPlant BreedingSolanum lycopersicumTranscriptional Activation

Identifiers

PMID34168320
OpenAlexW3173955521

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.