Abstract

Covering food necessities is mandatory, but resources are not sustainably exploited. Global strategies to increase food productivity and quality need to be concealed with a local perspective, providing breeders with the necessary technology to improve varieties. The aim of HYPE-IT is to decrease current technological barriers for breeding local crops using precision genome engineering, easing the gene editing process using SynBio-inspired simplified CRISPR/Cas9 tools. HYPE-IT brings along a software tool that associates crop traits with specific gene targets and designs optimal gRNAs for those targets. HYPE-IT also incorporates a modular gene circuit that serves as an in vivo gRNA testing system, ensuring appropriate gRNA choice even when no precise sequence information of local varieties is available. We aim to develop a split-Cas9 system based on viral vectors to efficiently deliver the editing machinery into the plant, and to create an affordable Lab Ware with the necessary laboratory equipment for HYPE-IT.