The present invention is directed to methods and compositions for breeding plants with an altered flavor or odor profile. Particularly, next generation plant breeding technologies are utilized for producing plants with target genes edited to reduce pungency in flavor or odor. The breeding method is capable of producing mustard plants in which the mustard bomb reaction is disarmed and/or plants with a reduced pungency and/or bitterness in flavor and/or odor.

Disclosed herein are methods for the production of Cannabis meristem explants from dry seeds. Also described are methods of transforming and gene editing using the Cannabis meristem explants disclosed herein.

The invention provides methods for improving transformation efficiency of a plant. In some aspects, the methods according to the invention comprise the use of a WOX protein or WOX coding sequence, e.g., a nucleic acid encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 143 or a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 85% identity with the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 143. Also provided are BABYBOOM coding sequences and methods of use thereof in improving transformation efficiency.

The present invention relates to methods and hybrids for the targeted modification of a nucleic acid-target region in a plant target structure using CRISPR/Cas systems. The invention specifically relates to methods and hybrids for directly obtaining a plant or plant material which comprises an editing of a nucleic acid introduced in a targeted manner into a meristematic cell. The hybrids can be introduced in a transient and/or stable manner. The invention also relates to novel plant-optimized introduction strategies. The invention further relates to a method for carrying out an in vitro screening assay in order to first check the suitable gRNA candidates in vitro with respect to their efficiency.

Methods of modifying plants by amplifying native or introducing extrachromosomal circular plant DNA comprising one or more exogenous or endogenous genes conferring an agronomically useful trait when expressed in a plant, or disrupting the association or tethering of endogenous extrachromosomal circular plant DNA with endogenous chromosomes in a plant to change one or more plant traits.

The invention provides novel methods for liquid-mediated delivery of pollen grains to enclosed stigmas in recipient female flowers. For example, methods for liquid-mediated pollination are provided. The methods provided include collecting pollen from a donor plant, suspending the collected pollen in a liquid solution, and introducing said solution to an enclosed stigma of a recipient flower bud on a recipient plant, thereby pollinating the flower with the pollen from the donor plant.

Materials and methods for inducing genetic alterations in meristematic plant tissue are provided herein.

The present invention relates to a method for plant genome modification of at least one plant cell being in the developmental stage of a plant immature inflorescence meristem (IIM) cell, wherein the modification of the specific cell type is achieved by providing a genome modification or editing system, optionally together with at least one regeneration booster, preferably wherein the effector molecules are introduced by means of particle bombardment. To this end, new artificial and precisely controllable booster genes and proteins are provided. Further, the modified plant cells are regenerated in a direct or an indirect way. Finally, methods, tools, constructs and strategies are provided to effectively modify at least one genomic target site in a plant cell, to obtain said modified cell and to regenerate a, plant tissue, organ, plant or seed from such modified cell.

Transgenic INHT30 soybean plants comprising modifications of the MON87708 soybean locus which provide for facile excision of the modified MON87708 transgenic locus or portions thereof, methods of making such plants, and use of such plants to facilitate breeding are disclosed.

Provided are a method for improving rice yield by jointly knocking out ABA receptor PYL family genes and a use thereof.