Jianshuang Zhou, Ruirui Li, Zhi Wang, Shaoxiong Liu, Lingyue Shi, Xiao Fu, Fei Li, Ji Zhang, Guiying Li, Jinjie Zhu, Qian Qian, Baoqing Dun

Journal of Integrative Plant Biology; 2026; IF: 9.3

DOI: 10.1111/jipb.70298

Abstract

Maximizing yield is challenging due to significant losses caused by weed competition, particularly from wild grasses. Previous studies have demonstrated that mutations at the conserved tryptophan 574 (Trp-574, W574) of Arabidopsis ALS or the equivalent position in ALSs from other species confer broad-spectrum resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in various species. In this study, we established an adenine base editing (ABE) system to precisely modify the Acetolactate synthase (SbALS) gene and develop imidazolinone-resistant sorghum. Following self-pollinating of primary transformants heterozygous for the intended mutation in SbALS, we recovered transgene-free plants heterozygous for the mutation in their progeny. Notably, plants homozygous for the introduced mutation did not appear to be viable, but inactivating a single SbALS copy was sufficient to confer herbicide resistance. These plants carry no foreign DNA, display robust resistance to imidazolinone, and are indistinguishable from the wild type for all tested agronomic traits, offering immediate value for cultivar development. Our study both expands the application of base editing to sorghum and provides new herbicide-resistant sorghum germplasm, which will accelerate sorghum breeding.