Going Green(er) with CRISPR Gene Editing

CRISPR Token
5 min readMar 15, 2022

Written by Hailey Tapia, Spring 2022 Editorial Intern at Berkeley Pharma Tech.

You finish typing up an email or document on your computer. Taking a scroll through, your eyes land on the dreaded blue wavy underline. But no need to fret — with only a few clicks, you are able to find and replace any pesky misspelling in your writing. If only something akin to this convenience existed in other disciplines.

Oh, wait. It does.

Gene editing functions much like the find and replace tool, but instead of fixing words, it rewrites DNA sequences in living cells. Scientists can quite literally finetune specific parts of a gene using this technique. Needless to say, the ability to customize genetic makeup has applications to a variety of organisms. In this article, we will explore the usages, technologies, and prospects of genome editing, and our starting point is as green as it is good: plants.

Plant Gene Editing

Plant and crop engineering have proven to be promising areas of biotechnology, offering a wealth of benefits to scientists, researchers, ecosystems, and regular inhabitants of Earth like you and me. In the last century, genetic variation was achieved mostly through conventional breeding, though it has significant drawbacks. It is restrictive, time-consuming, and inefficient in nature, as it depends on existing genes that all must be mixed to obtain desired characteristics (as one can imagine, thousands of gene combinations are not very economical). And despite its contribution to crop improvement, plant breeding often accompanies reduced fitness and genetic diversity. These reasons made, and still do make, technological innovation necessary for the continued growth of this industry.

The advent of gene editing is fairly new, and over the past twenty years, three major technologies have been created to diversify genes with greater accuracy and specificity. TALENs, ZFNs, and CRISPR-Cas9 all provide means to edit and target any gene of interest, which are especially advantageous to plants. For example, several crop species, like maize, rice, wheat, tobacco, tomato, and potato, have been genetically altered for the better, their advantages including a variety of resistances (such as to mildew, herbicide, or abiotic and biotic stresses), larger sizes, and more plentiful, higher quality crop production. Gene editing also lets us modify plants to make extra proteins needed by diabetic or albumin patients. Briefly put, plants can be modified in ways once unimaginable, making the construction of new varieties of crops and solutions to other pressing agricultural issues a not-so-distant reality.

CRISPR’s Role in Genetically Modifying Plants

In recent years, CRISPR has emerged as a trailblazer among first-generation genome editing systems. It is simpler — not to mention more flexible, precise, cost-effective, and efficient — by comparison and is revolutionizing plant gene modification in various ways: it does not need foreign DNA unlike traditional genetic engineering; it has rapidly increased in use compared to other new plant breeding techniques; it has a broader range of applications, having been engineered in 45 plant genera across 24 families since its first success in 2013; and it can improve an array of agricultural traits, like yield and grain quality, plant architecture, and plant aesthetics. Of particular note is CRISPR’s power to enhance herbicide, disease, and drought resistance in crops. It goes without saying that CRISPR is ideal for genetic modification of plants, specifically trees.

DNA and gene editing techniques using CRISPR technology

Trees, as all plants do, naturally store carbon dioxide through a process called photosynthesis. In doing so, some CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, but not enough to significantly decrease atmospheric carbon levels. Our world so desperately needs the right species of trees with the right characteristics to lead carbon removal. Fortunately, CRISPR-engineered redwood trees offer the solution.

Scientists can improve photosynthesis and other biological processes to make trees strong carbon capture agents. Trees draw in sunlight (as well as CO2 and water) during photosynthesis; however, their intake is not as great as it could be. While the maximum efficiency of photosynthesis is theorized at about 12%, most plants absorb only 1–2% of the light that lands on them. Not all trees hold the same amount of carbon, either, so a tree with high carbon storage is necessary. Redwood trees fit the bill: they absorb up to 981 U.S. tons per acre, more carbon per acre than any other forest type on Earth.

Graphic illustrating photosynthesis.

Furthermore, trees can afford more tolerance to drought, cold weather, and other adverse conditions. But how? Enter genome editing, the answer to refining photosynthetic efficiency and increasing trees’ carbon absorption capacities. Genetically editing redwood trees will make them the perfect allies in the battle against climate change, and CRISPR is just the tool for the job.

Where Berkeley Pharma Tech Stands

Today, gene editing in plants using CRISPR largely focuses on improving food production and accelerating sustainable agricultural practices. Berkeley Pharma Tech’s efforts are similar but different in that we are trying to fight climate change. Crops are not our primary focus; instead, we center our work on redwood trees, genetically modifying them to optimize their carbon sequestration and lower CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. And attaining the promise of Net-Zero emissions is possible through our CRISPR token, which goes toward funding the carbon capture project and building a greener, more sustainable world for everyone.

Hope For A Better Tomorrow

Scientists are making immeasurable progress in the dynamic field of genome editing, and this is only the beginning. As new attributes are introduced to plants to make them better, new pathways to agricultural and environmental breakthroughs are also forged. We bear witness to the genome editing techniques that can revolutionize agricultural biotechnology as we know it. CRISPR technology, in particular, promises a bright future for gene editing and its applications, and its value has not gone unnoticed by our team at Berkeley Pharma Tech. Together, we can combat global warming one tree at a time.

About Berkeley Pharma Tech

Based in Silicon Valley, Berkeley Pharma Tech is a biotechnology incubator for today’s young scientists. We are making strides toward medical revolutions through a variety of avenues, including biomedical research, cryptocurrency engineering, and software development. Our goal for the CRISPR project is to create a cleaner, more vibrant environment for the next generation, with net zero — a state of balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and their removal from the atmosphere — being a focal point. For more information about the CRISPR project and Berkeley Pharma Tech, visit our website or any of our social media channels below.

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