High-efficiency retron-mediated single-stranded DNA production in plants

ABSTRACT Background: Retrons are a class of retroelements that produce multicopy single-stranded DNA (msDNA) and participate in anti-phage defenses in bacteria. Retrons have been harnessed for the over-production of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), genome engineering, and directed evolution in bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells. However, no studies have shown retron-mediated ssDNA production in plants, which could unlock potential applications in plant biotechnology. For example, ssDNA can be used as a template for homology-directed repair (HDR) in several organisms. However, current gene editing technologies rely on the physical delivery of synthetic ssDNA, which limits their applications. Main methods and major results: Here, we demonstrated retron-mediated over-production of ssDNA in Nicotiana benthamiana. Additionally, we tested different retron architectures for improved ssDNA production and identified a new retron architecture that resulted in greater ssDNA abundance. Furthermore, co-expression of the gene encoding the ssDNA-protecting protein VirE2 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens with the retron systems resulted in a 10.7-fold increase in ssDNA production in vivo. We also demonstrated CRISPR-retron-coupled ssDNA over-production and targeted HDR in N. benthamiana. Conclusion: We present an efficient approach for in vivo ssDNA production in plants, which can be harnessed for biotechnological applications.