Pyruvate (PA), as a key metabolic node, plays a decisive role in maintaining postharvest quality. However, the effect of exogenous pyruvate on postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) in cassava has not yet been studied. In this study, exogenous PA significantly delayed PPD in fresh-cut cassava in a concentration-dependent manner, an effect not attributable to pH changes. Treatment with 5% PA completely inhibited browning for 48 h and was therefore used for mechanistic studies. PA reduced the levels of H2O2, O-2(center dot-) , and malondialdehyde (MDA). Although superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was suppressed, PA significantly enhanced catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities and elevated the AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG ratios, indicating a remodeling of cellular redox homeostasis. Metabolomics identified 1451 differentially accumulated metabolites, and transcriptomics revealed 16926 differentially expressed genes. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that PAspecific metabolites and genes were mainly enriched in pyruvate metabolism, the TCA cycle, glutathione metabolism, and cutin, suberin, and wax biosynthesis. Correlation network analysis screened 11 metabolites and 30 carbohydrate and energy metabolism-related genes, from which five core genes (LDHB, SIR1, PK, FBA2, and G6PD) were identified. Eight antioxidant enzyme genes (CATA1, GR, GPX2, GPX6, PER48, PER5, PERX, and PIOX) were also characterized. In hormone signaling, PA regulated 29 key genes involved in the jasmonic acid, ethylene, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid pathways, and stabilized JA-Ile accumulation. In conclusion, exogenous pyruvate delays cassava PPD by coordinately regulating carbohydrate and energy metabolism, the antioxidant system, and multiple hormone signaling networks. The identified core genes provide potential molecular targets for precise regulation of postharvest deterioration in cassava.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), a tropical tuberous crop, faces severe postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) that critically impacts its storage duration and economic value. The glyoxalase (GLY) pathway is an antioxidant defense mechanism in plants. This study investigated the function of MeGLYI-13 in regulating cassava PPD, via constitutive overexpression of MeGLYI-13, utilizing integrated physiological and transcriptomic analyses. The results indicated that overexpression of MeGLYI-13 in cassava delayed PPD occurrence, increased GLYI, APX, GR, and POD enzyme activities, as well as GSH and AsA levels, while reducing H2O2, MDA, and MG accumulation. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that MeGLYI-13 overexpression upregulated genes associated with antioxidant systems, the energy metabolism pathways. The MeGLYI-13 protein could interact with the MeFBP protein in the Calvin cycle. Two transcription factors, MADS and MYB, in the DEGs were predicted to be the common transcription factors of MeGLYI-13 and MeFBP. The above results indicate that MeGLYI-13 enhances antioxidant capacity and interacts with MeFBP to promote the Calvin cycle, reducing the accumulation of MG precursors, thereby reducing damage to cells and delaying the occurrence of cassava PPD. This process may be regulated by MADS and MYB transcription factors.

Enhancing resistant starch (RS) content in cassava is vital for developing nutritionally improved, functional food crops. In this study, targeted mutagenesis of the MeSSI gene via CRISPR/Cas9 was conducted to investigate its role in starch biosynthesis and RS accumulation. MeSSI knockout lines exhibited a 6.74-fold increase in RS content and a 16.42% elevation in amylose levels compared to the wild-type, without compromising total starch content or root yield. Starch structural analysis revealed an increased number of smaller granules per amyloplast and a shift in amylopectin chain-length distribution, characterized by reduced short chains (DP 6-12) and enrichment of intermediate and long chains, resulting in a lower branching degree. These modifications were associated with enhanced thermal stability and altered pasting behavior. Transcriptomic profiling indicated compensatory upregulation of AGPase subunits, and glycolytic genes, suggesting a reprogramming of carbon metabolism to sustain starch accumulation. This work identifies MeSSI as a key determinant of amylopectin fine structure and RS formation, providing a precise genome-editing strategy to improve the nutritional profile of cassava.

Cold stress (CS) is one of the main factors that limits the crop or plant growth and development in many regions of the world. Many researchers have been endeavoring to break the natural temperature barrier to grow plants in extremely cold areas or to alleviate erratic cold devastation on crops in temperate or subtropical regions for years. Numerous studies and research papers published recently for the last two decades have proven that exogenous substances (ESs) are effective and practical in helping plants tolerate CS. Here, we systematically summarize and characterize all 72 ESs that have been tried against CS, analyze research hotspots in the Web of Science database from 2000 to 2024 using VOSviewer with the keywords “cold stress” and “exogenous substances”, and grouped them accordingly. Based on their underlying mechanisms, five categories of ESs are clearly defined, described and discussed: 1) enhancement of cell osmotic adjustment, 2) improvement of antioxidant pathways, 3) involvement in phytohormone regulation, 4) promotion of photosynthesis; 5) enrichment of nutritional status. After clarifying these five categories, a detailed plant responses and their possible interactions through a signal cross-talk are proposed and followed by discussions on future perspectives on using ESs to fortify plants against CS. The accumulative knowledge and information provided here will be ultimately used to increase plant productivity and agricultural sustainability under CS through chemical and microbial approaches.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a staple crop in tropical and subtropical regions, valued for its high starch content in roots. Effective genetic transformation and genome editing of cassava require efficient screening methods for transgenic and edited plants. In this study, a visual selection marker system using an R2R3-MYB transcription factor anthocyanin 1 gene (HbAN1, LOC110667474) from a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Müll. Arg.) has been developed to facilitate the identification of transgenic cassava plants. Transgenic cassava lines expressing HbAN1 accumulated anthocyanins in their leaves, allowing for easy visual identification without the need for destructive assays or specialized equipment. Importantly, the accumulation of anthocyanins did not affect the regeneration or transformation efficiency of cassava. Additionally, the AR-CRISPR/Cas9-gRNA system with the HbAN1 gene as a marker produced MeCDD4 gene-edited cassava mutants with purple leaves, demonstrating successful editing. This anthocyanin-based visual reporter (AR) system will provide an effective tool for genetic transformation and genome editing in cassava.

Amyloplasts are the sites of starch synthesis and accumulation. Little is known about amyloplast division and its effects on the size, structure, and physicochemical properties of starch granules. In this study, we created mutants of plastid division-related gene MeMinD by CRISPR/Cas9 technology, leading to the disruption of normal division of amyloplasts in cassava storage roots. The memind mutants exhibited significantly enlarged amyloplasts with an increased number of starch granules, and broader range of granule sizes. The loss of MeMinD function led to transcriptional reprogramming of gene expressions related to starch-synthesizing enzymes, affecting the fine structure of starch. Starch in memind mutant storage roots showed a significantly decreased proportion of shorter amylopectin chains and an increased proportion of medium and long chains, which ultimately led to a significant increase in apparent amylose content (AAC) in memind mutants compared to that in WT. The changes in starch granule size and structure resulted in a significant increase in onset temperature (To), peak temperature (Tp), and conclusion temperature (Tc) of the gelatinization process, extending the time to reach peak temperature. These data suggest that regulating amyloplast division affects starch accumulation in cassava, presenting an effective strategy for developing novel cassava starch.

Cassava starch is a widely used raw material for industrial production and food source for people. However, cassava bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis (Xam) results in severe yield losses and is the most destructive bacterial disease in all worldwide cassava-growing regions. Xam11 is a highly pathogenic subspecies from China that infects the Chinese local cassava South China No. 8 (SC8) cultivar with marked symptoms. This study showed that the transcription activator-like effector TALE20(Xam11) of Xam11 strain regulates the expression of disease-susceptibility gene MeSWEET10a by binding to the EBETALE20 region of the MeSWEET10a promoter in cassava cultivar SC8. CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutations of the EBETALE20 region resulted in a significant reduction in MeSWEET10a expression after infection by Xam11, correlating with reduced disease symptoms, smaller lesion sizes and decreased bacterial proliferation compared with the wild type. Importantly, the edited plants maintained normal growth, development and yield characteristics under greenhouse conditions. The results lay a research foundation for breeding resistant cassava cultivar SC8 to bacterial blight.

Soluble starch synthases (SSs) play important roles in the synthesis of cassava starch. However, the expression characteristics of the cassava SSs genes have not been elucidated. In this study, the MeSSIII-1 gene and its promoter, from SC8 cassava cultivars, were respectively isolated by PCR amplification. MeSSIII-1 protein was localized to the chloroplasts. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the MeSSIII-1 gene was expressed in almost all tissues tested, and the expression in mature leaves was 18.9 times more than that in tuber roots. MeSSIII-1 expression was induced by methyljasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), and ethylene (ET) hormones in cassava. MeSSIII-1 expression patterns were further confirmed in proMeSSIII-1 transgenic cassava. The promoter deletion analysis showed that the -264 bp to -1 bp MeSSIII-1 promoter has basal activity. The range from -1228 bp to -987 bp and -488 bp to -264 bp significantly enhance promoter activity. The regions from -987 bp to -747 bp and -747 bp to -488 bp have repressive activity. These findings will provide an important reference for research on the potential function and transcriptional regulation mechanisms of the MeSSIII-1 gene and for further in-depth exploration of the regulatory network of its internal functional elements.

Formic acid is reported to act as a food preservative and feed additive, but its effects on controlling postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) development in cassava are unclear. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of different concentrations of formic acid in attenuating PPD occurrence in fresh-cut cassava. The results showed that the concentration of 0.1% (v/v) formic acid could significantly delay the occurrence of PPD, and that the higher the concentration of formic acid supplied, the later the occurrence of PPD symptoms. The physiological and biochemical analysis of 0.5%-formic-acid-treated cassava slices revealed that formic acid decreased the degradation of starch, inhibited the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), and water-soluble pectin in cassava slices with PPD development, and increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR). A microscopic observation showed that the formic acid treatment inhibited the enlargement of the intercellular space during the cassava PPD process, which suggests that the formation of an intercellular layer of the cell wall was inhibited by formic acid. This study thus revealed the mechanism used by formic acid to extend the cassava shelf life; however, a detailed evaluation of the possible side effects on, for example, the cyanide content will be needed to categorically ensure the safety of this method.

The sugar transporter (STP) gene family is a key regulator of plant development, which is crucial for the efficient transport and utilization of sugars during plant growth and development. In this study, we identified the MeSTP7 gene, which is highly expressed in cassava fibrous roots, early storage roots, and under hormonal treatment, including IAA, MeJA, ABA, and GA3, and abiotic stressors, such as mannitol and NaCl. A strong response was observed with exoqenous IAA. Transfecting MeSTP7 into Arabidopsis promoted early seedling growth, particularly in lateral root development. The content of endogenous hormones (IAA and MeJA) as well as soluble sugars (sucrose, fructose, and glucose) was elevated in transgenic Arabidopsis. Hormone treatments with IAA, MeJA, GA3, and ABA on transgenic Arabidopsis revealed that transgenic Arabidopsis responded positively to added 20 μM IAA. They also exhibited co-induced regulation of lateral root formation by GA3, MeJA, and ABA. qRT-PCR analysis showed that overexpression of MeSTP7 upregulated the expression of IAA14, ARF7, and ARF19 in Arabidopsis. Under IAA treatment, the expression of these genes was similarly upregulated but downregulated under MeJA treatment. These results suggest that MeSTP7 may promote Arabidopsis seedling development by increasing the content of sucrose, glucose, and fructose in roots, which in turn influences IAA-based hormonal signaling.

Foods with high amylose and resistant starch (RS) contents have great potential to enhance human health. In this study, cassava soluble starch synthase MeSSIII-1 gene mutants were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 system. The results showed that the storage roots of messiii-1 mutants had higher contents of amylose, RS, and total starch than those in CK. The rates of small and large-sized starch granules were increased. Additionally, amylopectin starch in messiii-1 mutants had a higher proportion of medium- and long- chains, and a lower proportion of short-chains than those in CK. The onset, peak, and conclusion temperatures of starch gelatinization in messiii-1 mutants were significantly lower than those in CK, and the peak viscosity, trough viscosity and final viscosity all increased. MeSSIII-1 mutation could increase the contents of sucrose, glucose, and fructose in cassava storage roots. We hypothesize that these soluble sugars serve a dual role: they provide the necessary carbon source for starch synthesis and act as sugar signals to trigger the transcriptional reprogramming of genes involved in starch biosynthesis. This process results in a collective enhancement of amylose, RS, and total starch contents, accompanied by changes in starch granule morphology, fine structure, and physicochemical properties.

The AT-hook motif nuclear-localized (AHL) family is pivotal for the abiotic stress response in plants. However, the function of the cassava AHL genes has not been elucidated. Promoters, as important regulatory elements of gene expression, play a crucial role in stress resistance. In this study, the promoter of the cassava MeAHL31 gene was cloned. The MeAHL31 protein was localized to the cytoplasm and the nucleus. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the MeAHL31 gene was expressed in almost all tissues tested, and the expression in tuber roots was 321.3 times higher than that in petioles. Promoter analysis showed that the MeAHL31 promoter contains drought, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellin (GA) cis-acting elements. Expression analysis indicated that the MeAHL31 gene is dramatically affected by treatments with salt, drought, MeJA, ABA, and GA3. Histochemical staining in the proMeAHL31-GUS transgenic Arabidopsis corroborated that the GUS staining was found in most tissues and organs, excluding seeds. Beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity assays showed that the activities in the proMeAHL31-GUS transgenic Arabidopsis were enhanced by different concentrations of NaCl, mannitol (for simulating drought), and MeJA treatments. The integrated findings suggest that the MeAHL31 promoter responds to the abiotic stresses of salt and drought, and its activity is regulated by the MeJA hormone signal.

Light quality is highly important for growth control of in vitro plant cultures. Here, we investigated the effect of blue light (BL), red light (RL) and combined red and blue light (RBL) on in vitro cassava growth. Our results indicate that RL facilitated radial elongation of cassava and increased stomatal conductance as well as glucose, sucrose, fructose and starch content in leaves and cellulose content in the stem. It also enhanced SOD and POD activities but decreased the stomatal density and chlorophyll and carotenoid content in leaves. In addition, RL leads to shorter palisade cells, denser chloroplasts and more starch granules. These phenotypic changes were inverted following BL treatment. The expression levels of photosynthesis-related genes MeLHCA1, MeLHCA3, MePSB27-2, MePSBY, MePETE1 and MePNSL2 in leaves were at their lowest following RL treatment, while the expression levels of MePSB27-2, MePSBY, MePETE1 and MePNSL2 were at their highest after BL treatment. The phenotypic changes after RBL treatment were between the values observed for the RL and BL treatments alone. Moreover, the responses of SC8 and SC9 cassava varieties to light quality were largely conserved. As such, we believe that the results of this study lay the foundation for controlling the in vitro growth of cassava seedlings by light quality.

Although zinc and copper are the two essential nutrients necessary for plant growth, their excessive accumulation in soil not only causes environmental pollution but also seriously threatens human health and inhibits plant growth. The breeding of plants with novel zinc or copper toxicity tolerance capacities represents one strategy to address this problem. Glyoxalase I (GLYI) family genes have previously been suggested to be involved in the resistance to a wide range of abiotic stresses, including those invoked by heavy metals. Here, a MeGLYI-13 gene cloned from a cassava SC8 cultivar was characterized with regard to its potential ability in resistance to zinc or copper stresses. Sequence alignment indicated that MeGLYI-13 exhibits sequence differences between genotypes. Transient expression analysis revealed the nuclear localization of MeGLYI-13. A nuclear localization signal (NLS) was found in its C-terminal region. There are 12 Zn2+ binding sites and 14 Cu2+ binding sites predicted by the MIB tool, of which six binding sites were shared by Zn2+ and Cu2+. The overexpression of MeGLYI-13 enhanced both the zinc and copper toxicity tolerances of transformed yeast cells and Arabidopsis seedlings. Taken together, our study shows the ability of the MeGLYI-13 gene to resist zinc and copper toxicity, which provides genetic resources for the future breeding of plants resistant to zinc and copper and potentially other heavy metals.

Cassava is one of the most versatile tuberous-root crops on Earth. However, the postharvest storage properties of cassava tuberous root mean that it is perishable through a process known as postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD), which seriously affects its starch quality. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the transcriptional regulatory activity of cassava against the PPD response is necessary in order to extract key molecular mechanisms related to PPD tolerance. In this study, we found that RYG1 tuberous roots showed delayed PPD compared to those of SC8. In addition, RYG1 roots maintained a more stable cell wall structure after storage than those of SC8. The transcriptome changes in tuberous roots were analyzed for both RYG1 and SC8 after 21 days of storage (SR and SS) compared to fresh (FR and FS) by the RNA-Seq method. The total number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the various comparisons of these four samples ranged from 68 to 3847. Of these, a total of 2008 co-DEGs in SR vs. SS were shared by either SR vs. FR or SS vs. FS. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that upregulated co-DEGs in SR vs. SS were mainly enriched in photosynthesis, protein processing, hormone and cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis. By contrast, the downregulated co-DEGs were mainly related to cell wall organization, starch and sucrose metabolism, galactose metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, diterpenoid biosynthesis, cysteine and methionine metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks of the co-DEGs showed a complex interaction of genes in different pathways, and 16 hub genes were characterized to have a degree in excess of 15, among which eight genes were associated with photosynthesis. These results provide new information for the study of cassava resistance to PPD and lay a foundation for the further molecular breeding of storage-tolerant cassava varieties.

LBD基因家族是指含有侧生器官边界(lateral organ boundaries,LOB)结构域的一种植物特异性转录因子家族,在植物的生长发育和代谢调控等方面起着至关重要的作用.木薯MeLOB36基因是LBD基因家族成员,前期研究发现该基因在木薯根尖、体细胞胚、脆性胚性愈伤组织表达量较高,推测其参与了木薯植株的形态建成.为了鉴定MeLOB36基因的功能,本研究利用在线软件CRISPR-Pv2.0在保守区域设计靶标MeLOB36 基因的 sgRNA,构建 MeLOB36 基因的编辑载体 pCAMBIA1301-Cas9-MeLOB36-sgRNA.将重组载体转化LBA4404根癌农杆菌后侵染木薯脆性胚性愈伤组织,通过PCR扩增MeLOB36基因编辑靶点及潜在脱靶位点区段序列,进行Sanger测序.结果表明,MeLOB36基因被成功编辑,且未脱靶.本研究有助于进一步获得MeLOB36基因的突变体,从而鉴定MeLOB36转录因子对木薯植株形态建成的影响.

Plant pectin methylesterases (PMEs) play crucial roles in regulating cell wall modification and response to various stresses. Members of the PME family have been found in several crops, but there is a lack of research into their presence in cassava (Manihot esculent), which is an important crop for world food security. In this research, 89 MePME genes were identified in cassava that were separated into two types (type-Ⅰ and type-Ⅱ) according to the existence or absence of a pro-region (PMEI domain). The MePME gene members were unevenly located on 17 chromosomes, with 19 gene pairs being identified that most likely arose via duplication events. The MePMEs could be divided into ten sub-groups in type-Ⅰ and five sub-groups in type-Ⅱ. The motif analysis revealed 11 conserved motifs in type-Ⅰ and 8 in type-Ⅱ MePMEs. The number of introns in the CDS region of type-Ⅰ MePMEs ranged between one and two, and the number of introns in type-Ⅱ MePMEs ranged between one and nine. There were 21 type-Ⅰ and 31 type-Ⅱ MePMEs that contained signal peptides. Most of the type-Ⅰ MePMEs had two conserved "RK/RLL" and one "FPSWVS" domain between the pro-region and the PME domain. Multiple stress-, hormone- and tissue-specific-related cis-acting regulatory elements were identified in the promoter regions of MePME genes. A total of five co-expressed genes (MePME1, MePME2, MePME27, MePME65 and MePME82) were filtered from different abiotic stresses via the use of UpSet Venn diagrams. The gene expression pattern analysis revealed that the expression of MePME1 was positively correlated with the degree of cassava postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD). The expression of this gene was also significantly upregulated by 7% PEG and 14 °C low-temperature stress, but slightly downregulated by ABA treatment. The tissue-specific expression analysis revealed that MePME1 and MePME65 generally displayed higher expression levels in most tissues than the other co-expressed genes. In this study, we obtain an in-depth understanding of the cassava PME gene family, suggesting that MePME1 could be a candidate gene associated with multiple abiotic tolerance.

Cassava starch is a widely used raw material for industrial production. South Chinese cassava cultivar 8 ( Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. SC8) is one of the main locally planted cultivars. In this study, an efficient transformation system for cassava SC8 mediated with Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 was presented for the first time, in which the factors of Agrobacterium strain cell infection (density OD600 = 0.65), 250 µM acetosyringone induction, and agro-cultivation with wet friable embryogenic callus (FEC) for 3 days in dark conditions were found to increase the transformation efficiency through the binary vector pCAMBIA1304 harboring GUS- and GFP-fused genes driven by the CaMV35S promoter. Based on the optimized transformation protocol, approximately 120-140 independent transgenic lines per mL settled FEC cell volume (SCV) by gene transformation in approximately five months, and 45.83% homozygous mono-allelic mutations of the MePDS gene with a YAO promoter-driven CRISPR/Cas9 system were generated. This study will open a more functional avenue for the genetic improvement of cassava SC8.

液泡转化酶（vacuolar invertase, VINV）是参与植物蔗糖代谢、器官发育的关键酶之一。木薯MeVINV1在块根发育及淀粉积累阶段的表达活跃，对该基因进行编辑敲除，将有助于解析MeVINV1在木薯块根淀粉积累过程中的作用。本研究构建了MeVINV1的CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑载体，转化木薯脆性胚性愈伤组织以验证载体的编辑效果。结果发现：转化后的样品中，MeVINV1基因靶点位置出现测序多峰，而未转化样品中没有多峰出现，表明本研究构建的基因编辑载体可对MeVINV1基因进行编辑；检测分析潜在脱靶位点的序列，发现未出现脱靶现象。该研究为获得MeVINV1基因的突变体，明确其在木薯块根发育及淀粉积累过程中的功能奠定了基础。

木薯(Manihot esculenta Crantz)是一种热带、亚热带重要的粮食与能源作物,提高木薯的产量对木薯产业发展至关重要.木薯块根的发育直接影响其产量情况,而不同逆境胁迫会影响木薯块根的发育情况.因此解析木薯块根的发育机制有助于通过分子育种手段实现木薯高产,以及获得具备一定抗逆品质的优良种质,增强木薯的适应性,从而扩大木薯种植的推广面积.己糖转运蛋白(STPs)是一类MSTs亚家族蛋白,通过转运糖类物质调节植物生长发育及非生物胁迫.本实验室前期鉴定出MeSTP7和MeSTP15基因在块根发育时期的糖分累积、应对非生物胁迫过程中起到重要作用,因此获得木薯MeSTP7和MeSTP15双突变体将有助于解析木薯块根发育机制及创制抗逆新种质.为了得到MeSTP7和MeSTP15木薯双突变体,利用在线软件CRISPR-P v2.0同时设计靶标基因MeSTP7和MeSTP15的sgRNA,成功构建了MeSTP7和MeSTP15的CRISPR/Cas9双基因编辑载体.将编辑载体转化农杆菌LBA4404后,侵染'华南8号'(SC8)木薯脆性胚性愈伤组织,经过Sanger测序分析MeSTP7和MeSTP15成功发生编辑,而潜在的脱靶位点未发生编辑,说明双编辑载体可对MeSTP7和MeSTP15基因进行编辑,且不造成脱靶现象,然后将侵染后的脆性胚性愈伤组织诱导出子叶,经过15 mmol/L的潮霉素B筛选出生根植株,生根植株再经过分子检测,成功获得带有双编辑载体表达框的转基因阳性植株.以阳性植株的基因组作为模板,分别用PCR扩增2个基因的靶位点前后各100 bp核苷酸序列,经过Hi-TOM测序后,结果显示有26个株系发生突变,其中MeSTP7/15双基因突变体有23个,MeSTP7单基因突变体2个,MeSTP15单基因突变体1个,编辑类型多为单碱基缺失或插入,大片段碱基的缺失所占比率小.初步在组培瓶中观察突变体的变型,发现单突变体和双突变体的根系生长均受抑制,植株矮小,且MeSTP7和MeSTP15双突变体受损更严重.该研究结果不仅为进一步解析木薯块根发育机制奠定基础,还为获得木薯抗病、抗逆新种质提供材料.