{"id":14731,"date":"2026-06-20T12:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/study-unveils-cas-clover-as-a-highly-efficient-genome-editing-technology-in-banana\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:23:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:23:00","slug":"study-unveils-cas-clover-as-a-highly-efficient-genome-editing-technology-in-banana","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/study-unveils-cas-clover-as-a-highly-efficient-genome-editing-technology-in-banana\/","title":{"rendered":"Study unveils Cas-CLOVER as a highly efficient genome editing technology in banana"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cas\/CLOVER
Cas\/CLOVER Genome Editing Tool.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a landmark development for agricultural biotechnology, a pioneering study conducted by the Biotechnology team at IITA<\/em><\/a>\u2013CGIAR<\/em><\/a>, in collaboration with Demeetra AgBio Inc., has unveiled Cas-CLOVER as a novel, precise and highly efficient genome editing tool for banana. The findings of this study promise to revolutionize banana cultivation by addressing critical challenges faced in traditional breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being a staple in the diets of millions worldwide, banana has long been plagued by various hurdles in their genetic improvement. These include issues like low genetic variability in germplasm, polyploidy, protracted production cycles, and the sterility of many cultivars. Genome editing has emerged as a transformative technique to combat these obstacles and develop improved banana varieties with enhanced disease resistance and increased yield potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing the need to address resilience to emerging threats of pathogens and pests and ensure food and nutrition security, the biotechnology team at IITA is using new breeding tools, such as genome editing. A study titled “A new and novel high-fidelity genome editing tool for banana using Cas-CLOVER” found that Cas-CLOVER is an efficient genome editing technology in banana for boosting crop development to enhance the yield and income of smallholder farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cas-CLOVER-based genome editing technology represents a significant breakthrough for the Nobel-awarded CRISPR-Cas9. Cas-CLOVER uses a different nuclease protein called Clo51, achieving greater precision by using two guide Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) and a nuclease activity requiring the dimerization of subunits associated with each guide RNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IITA Biotechnology Program Lead Leena Tripathi elaborated on these results: “While CRISPR\/Cas9 has earned its reputation as the go-to technique for functional genomics and crop enhancement due to its user-friendliness, design flexibility, high efficiency, and multiplexing capabilities, our study demonstrates the remarkable potential of the Cas-CLOVER system in editing the genome of the banana for the first time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tripathi emphasized that the results establish Cas-CLOVER as a highly efficient genome editing technology for bananas, marking a significant advancement from its previous demonstrations only in tobacco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has been an honor to work with Dr Tripathi and her talented and dedicated group at the IITA,” said Jack Crawford, CEO of Demeetra. He added: “Offering researchers from industry and academia a proven technology with simple and viable routes to commercialization is just the start. We’ve found the key to success in gene editing is working closely with clients for optimal transfer of know-how. Our internal expertise in molecular design combined with IITA’s transformation and tissue culture capabilities are demonstrated nicely in this paper.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cas-CLOVER will serve as editor of the banana genome with increased indel frequency without introducing the risk of unwanted off-target mutations. This can be combined with the piggyBac transposase, where the editing reagents are removed in the scarless manner for the edited products. With this ability, the Cas-CLOVER technology can potentially develop transgene-free genome-edited banana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to explore Cas-CLOVER as an alternative genome editing approach to the CRISPR\/Cas9 system is to avoid the intellectual property (IP) issues surrounding the latter. This shift could pave the way for the development of genome-edited banana without the encumbrance of legal complexities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings of this study represent a way forward for using the Cas-CLOVER tool due to its precision and versatility promise to usher in a new era of crop enhancement, offering hope for increased yields, improved disease resistance, and enhanced income for banana farmers. The application of this genome editing technology may well be the key to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of global agriculture today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contribu\u00e9 par Gloriana Ndibalema<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a landmark development for agricultural biotechnology, a pioneering study conducted by the Biotechnology team at IITA-CGIAR, in collaboration with Demeetra AgBio Inc., has unveiled Cas-CLOVER as a novel, precise and highly efficient genome editing tool for banana.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14732,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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