High performance TadA-8e derived cytosine and dual base editors with undetectable off-target effects in plants

Abstract

Cytosine base editors (CBEs) and adenine base editors (ABEs) are powerful tools to install precise C-to-T and A-to-G base edits in living organisms. In recently years, a highly efficient ABE based on engineered TadA-8e, known as ABE8e, has been developed to confer highly efficient A-to-G editing in mammalian cells and plants. Interestingly, TadA-8e can be further evolved and engineered to confer cytosine base editing. In this study, we compare in rice and tomato cells a serial of engineered CBEs derived from TadA-8e and identify TadCBEa, TadCBEd, and TadCBEd_V106W as efficient CBEs with high editing purity, while maintaining the relatively narrow editing window of ABE8e. Excitingly, we show TadDE is a new class of dual base editor where a single deaminase domain promotes simultaneous C-to-T and A-to-G base editing in plant cells. Multiplexed base editing is demonstrated in transgenic rice plants with TadCBEa and TadDE. Furthermore, no off-target effects of TadCBEa and TadDE can be detected by whole genome and transcriptome sequencing of the transgenic lines, suggesting high editing specificity. Finally, we demonstrate two gain-of-function crop engineering applications in rice by using the efficient dual base editor, TadDE. In the first case, herbicide resistance alleles of OsALS are introduced by TadDE. In the second case, synonymous mutations are generated in OsSPL14, making its transcript resistant to OsMIR156-mediated degradation. Together, this study reports TadA-8e derived CBEs and a dual base editor with high editing activity, purity, and specificity. They are valuable additions to the expanding plant base editing toolbox.