Stellenbosch, South Africa — Scientists at Stellenbosch University have achieved a major milestone in African plant biotechnology with the first published successful genome editing of a woody crop species on the continent. The breakthrough, reported in the journal Plant Stress, shows how precision genome editing can be used to develop grapevines that are more resilient to both disease and water stress.

Breakthrough study shows how precision gene editing can improve grapevine resistance to disease and water stress

The research, led by Dr Manuela Campa from the Department of Genetics, used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to modify a grapevine (Vitis vinifera) gene known as VvDMR6.1, a susceptibility gene involved in plant immune responses. PhD student Clara Holm worked on the project from her Honours studies through to her MSc and PhD at Stellenbosch University, highlighting its long-term, student-driven nature. By inactivating this gene, the researchers produced grapevine plants with reduced susceptibility to downy mildew, one of the most damaging diseases affecting vineyards worldwide.

Unexpectedly, the edited plants also responded differently to water limitation. The modified vines displayed altered stomatal behaviour and increased levels of the stress hormone abscisic acid during drought conditions, suggesting improved physiological responses to water stress.

Dr Campa and colleagues show how a single targeted genetic change can influence multiple stress responses in plants. By editing a susceptibility gene, they were able to reduce disease susceptibility while also influencing how plants respond to water limitation.

Grapevine is one of the world’s most economically important fruit crops, but its production is increasingly threatened by both pathogens and environmental stress. Both pressures are expected to intensify under climate change, so developing varieties that can tolerate multiple stresses simultaneously is therefore a major priority for agriculture.

The edited plants showed significantly lower levels of infection by the downy mildew pathogen Plasmopara viticola compared with non-edited plants. At the same time, in greenhouse assays, the modified vines demonstrated a water-saving physiological strategy, rapidly closing their stomata when water became limited.

According to the research team, the findings highlight the potential of genome editing as a powerful tool for crop improvement in Africa. While genome editing has been widely applied in model plants and several crops globally, its use in woody perennial species has remained limited because of their complex regeneration systems and long breeding cycles.

“This work demonstrates that advanced genome editing technologies can be successfully applied to perennial crops in Africa,” says Campa. “It opens the door to new research aimed at developing more sustainable and climate-resilient crops.” 

The researchers emphasise that further studies will be needed to evaluate the edited plants under field conditions. The study represents an important step toward integrating modern genome editing approaches into African crop improvement programmes, particularly for high-value horticultural crops such as grapevine.

The article, titled “CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing identifies the dual role of VvDMR6.1 in downy mildew resistance and response to water limitation in grapevine,” is published in the journal Plant Stress.

Article by: Dr Justin Lashbrooke