ENGINEERED CRISPR POLLEN FOR BIOCONFINEMENT IN TOMATO

We aim to engineer tomato pollen to express Cas/gRNA that would enable restricting PMGF from GE tomato to non-GE tomato. We will use Arabidopsis to conduct a proof of concept study and then transfer the concept to tomato for real-world applications.1. Generation of GE Arabidopsis and tomato producing CRISPR pollen via genetic engineering.2. Testing of the effect of the CRISPR pollen on endosperm lethality and seed abortion in Arabidopsis and tomato under greenhouse conditions.3. Field trials of the extent of PMGF from the GE tomato to non-GE tomato.