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This meeting took place in 2021



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Plant Genome Engineering: From Lab to Field (EK25)


Organizer(s) Caixia Gao, Daniel F. Voytas and Holger Puchta
March 8—10, 2021
Virtual at your computer • , CO USA
Abstract Deadline: Feb 16, 2021
Scholarship Deadline: Nov 1, 2020
Discounted Registration Deadline:

Supported by the Directors' Fund


Summary of Meeting:
Improvements in plant breeding are necessary to feed a growing population on a warming globe. CRISPR/Cas technology, which is revolutionizing molecular biology, has the potential to create a novel, sustainable agriculture. To date, thousands of plant biologists have started to use gene editing strategies; the time is ripe for a conference solely dedicated to CRISPR/Cas applications in plants. Topics covered will include the development of new tools for gene and base editing, gene targeting by homologous recombination, transcriptional regulation, epigenetic editing and induced chromosomal rearrangements. To apply these tools in plants, specific biological requirements have to be taken into account such as efficient transformation and regeneration procedures or organ specific expression. Trait improvements in crop plants - such as tomato, rice, wheat and corn - have been achieved and more are in the pipeline. The conference will be a platform for scientists from academia and industry to interact. It will also bring together scientists that work on tool development, plant transformation, plant breeding and crop trait development. Thus, not only will the newest applications of CRISPR/Cas in basic plant biology be offered, but the ground will be laid for a swift transfer of the benefits of the technology to that field.

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Conference Program    Print  |   View meeting in 12 hr (am/pm) time


The meeting will begin on Monday, March 8 with . Conference events conclude on Wednesday, March 10 with a closing plenary session from 12:00 to , followed by . We recommend return travel on Thursday, March 11 in order to fully experience the meeting.

MONDAY, MARCH 8

08:00—08:40
Welcome and Keynote Address (8am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Caixia Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Session Chair

* Daniel F. Voytas, University of Minnesota, USA
Session Chair

* Holger Puchta, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Session Chair

Pamela C. Ronald, University of California, Davis, USA
Enhancing Food Security through Rice Genetic Improvement

08:00—08:40
Welcome and Keynote Address (8am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Fyodor D. Urnov, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Session Chair

Tim W. Yu, Boston Children's Hospital, USA
Developing Custom Genetic Therapies

08:40—11:00
Plant Genome Editing Tools and Technology Development I (8:40am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Daniel F. Voytas, University of Minnesota, USA
Overcoming Bottlenecks in Editing Plant Genomes

Feng Zhang, University of Minnesota, USA
Improving Scalable and Precision Genome Editing in Plants

Coffee Break

* Holger Puchta, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
CRISPR/Cas Mediated Plant Chromosome Engineering

Avraham A. Levy, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
From a DNA Break to Targeted Recombination between Homologous Chromosomes in Plants

Ayumu Takatsuka, Tohoku University, Japan
Short Talk: MitoTALEN-Mediated Mitochondrial Gene-Knockout Revealed a Cytoplasmic Male Sterility-Causative Gene in Oryza Sativa cv. Tadukan

Shin-ichi Arimura, University of Tokyo, Japan
Short Talk: Targeted Base Editing in the Plastid Genome of Arabidopsis thaliana

08:40—11:00
Engineering of Editors and Epi-Editors (8:30am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Samuel H. Sternberg, Columbia University, USA
Targeted DNA Integration using CRISPR RNA-Guided Transposases

Cecilia Cotta-Ramusino, Tessera Therapeutics, USA
[NOT AVAILABLE ON DEMAND] New Editing Technologies

Coffee Break

* Patrick D. Hsu, University of California, Berkeley, USA
CRISPR in the Time of COVID

Prashant Mali, University of California, San Diego, USA
[NOT AVAILABLE ON DEMAND] Endogenous RNA Editing Systems

Balint Csorgo, UCSF, USA
Short Talk: A Compact Cascade-Cas3 System for Targeted Genome Engineering and Gene Discovery

Yarui Diao, Duke University School of Medicine, USA
Short Talk: CRISPR-based Multimodal Functional Analysis Reveals the Key Role of Retroviral Sequence LTR7 in Governing Neural Fate Commitment of Human Embryo Development

12:30—13:30
Career Roundtable (Joint) (12:30pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

Britt Adamson, Princeton University, USA

Rachel E. Haurwitz, Caribou Biosciences, Inc., USA

Steven E. Jacobsen, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

13:30—15:00
Poster Session 1 (Joint) (1:30pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

15:00—18:00
Plant Genome Editing Tools and Technology Development II (3pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Steven E. Jacobsen, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Epigenetic Editing in Plants

Seiichi Toki, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan
Plant DNA Repair and Genome Engineering

Erika Toda, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan
An Efficient DNA- and Selectable-Marker-Free Genome-Editing System Using Zygotes in Rice and Its Possible Application to Other Crop Species

Coffee Break

* Caixia Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Precise Prime Editing in Plants

Lanqin Xia, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
CRISPR/Cas-Mediated Precision Genome Editing for Crop Improvement

Jian-Kang Zhu, Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS, China
Strategies for Efficient Gene Targeting in Plants

Keishi Osakabe, Tokushima University, Japan
Short Talk: Genome Editing Using the CRISPR Type I-D Nuclease in Plants

15:00—18:00
Controlling CRISPR (3pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Charles Gersbach, Duke University, USA
Session Chair

Jacob E. Corn, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Visible and Invisible HDR in Human Cells

Bas van Steensel, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Netherlands
Multiplexed Probing of the Impact of Chromatin on Cas9-Induced DSB Repair Pathways

Ahmad S. Khalil, Boston University, USA
Design of Eukaryotic Gene Regulatory Circuits

Coffee Break

Jennifer E. Phillips-Cremins, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Engineering the Repetitive 3D Genome in Human Disease

Alyna Katti, Weill Cornell Medicine, USA
Short Talk: Strategies to Improve Engineering Cancer Associated SNVs with Base Editing

Daniel M. Sapozhnikov, McGill University, Canada
Short Talk: Unraveling the Transcriptional Impact of DNA Demethylation at Specific Promoters by Targeted Steric Blockage of DNA Methyltransferase with CRISPR/dCas9

* Henriette O'Geen, University of California, Davis, USA
Short Talk: Determinants of Persistence in Epigenetic Editing

Isaac B. Hilton, Rice University, USA
Short Talk: Programmable Human Histone Phosphorylation and Gene Activation using a CRISPR/Cas9-Based Chromatin Kinase


TUESDAY, MARCH 9

08:00—11:00
Application of Genome Editing in Agriculture I (8am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Zachary Lippman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
Engineering Quantitative Trait Variation for Crop Improvement by Genome Editing

* Jens Boch, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
Expanding the TALEN Toolbox for Genome Editing

Joyce Van Eck, Boyce Thompson Institute, USA
Exploring Insect Interactions in Physalis Using CRISPR Generated Mutant Lines

Coffee Break

Magdy Mahfouz, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
RNA-Virus Interference via CRISPR-Cas13 Systems

Mariette Andersson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Genome Editing for Improved Potato Traits

Eyal Fridman, Volcani Center ARO, Israel
Short Talk: RECAS9-Mediated QTL Mapping by Mitotic Genome Editing in Cereals

Sergei Svitashev, Corteva Agriscience, USA
Short Talk: CRISPR-Cas9-mediated 75.5 Mb Inversion in Maize

Trevor Weiss, University of Minnesota, USA
Short Talk: Differential CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Influenced by Epigenetic Factors

08:00—11:00
Therapeutics I: Ex Vivo Editing (8am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Rachel E. Haurwitz, Caribou Biosciences, Inc., USA
The Future is Allogeneic - Translating a CRISPR Platform into Gene-Edited Cell Therapies

Matthew Porteus, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA
Genome Editing of Blood Cells to Cure Disease

Chiara Bonini, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Italy
T-Cell Gene Editing for Cancer Immunotherapy

Coffee Break

* Nicole Gaudelli, Beam Therapeutics, USA
An Adenine Base Editing Strategy for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease by Elimination of the Pathogenic Globin Protein

Delphine Guipouy, CHU Sainte Justine Research Center, Canada
[NOT AVAILABLE ON DEMAND] Short Talk: Knockout of NKG2A by CRISPR in Human NK Cells Enhance their Cytotoxic Activity Against Solid Tumors

Dimitrios Laurin Wagner, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Short Talk: Fast and Efficient Generation of TRAC-integrated CAR T Cells without Viruses

Adrian Veres, Harvard University, USA
Short Talk: Optimizing Stem Cell Lines for in vitro-derived Beta Cell Therapeutics via Genome-wide CRISPR Knock-out Screening

Sébastien Levesque, CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Canada
Short Talk: Expanding the Scope of Marker-Free Selection for CRISPR-Driven Genome Editing in Human Cells

12:30—13:30
Meet the Editors (Joint) (12:30pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

Roland George Roberts, Public Library of Science, UK

Holger Matthias Breithaupt, EMBO, Germany

Kevin Davies, CRISPR Journal, USA

Bing Yang, Frontiers in Genome Editing, USA

Ruth Zearfoss, Cell Press, USA

Caitlin Karniski, Nature Portfolio, USA

13:30—15:00
Poster Session 2 (Joint) (1:30pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

15:00—17:50
Application of Genome Editing in Agriculture II (3pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Kan Wang, Iowa State University, USA
Breeding of a Transformable Model Maize Line for Genome Editing

* Yiping Qi, University of Maryland, USA
Expanding the Targeting Range of CRISPR in Plants

Tobias Jores, University of Washington, USA
Learning Properties of Regulatory Elements for Future Crop Engineering

Coffee Break

William J. Gordon-Kamm, Corteva Agriscience, USA
The Status of Cereal Crop Transformation and Meeting Future Demands for Genome Modification

Tom Adams, Pairwise, USA
How CRISPR Technology Can Help Us All Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Rammyani Bagchi, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA
Short Talk: Use of Polyvalent Guide RNAs for CRISPR Antivirals

15:00—18:00
Therapeutics II: In Vivo Editing (3pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

David G. Ousterout, Locus Biosciences, Inc., USA
Development of crPhage to Treat Infections

* Fyodor D. Urnov, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Towards a CRISPRi/a Therapeutic for Radiation Injury

Aravind Asokan, Duke University, USA
Engineering AAV for Targeted In Vivo Editing

Coffee Break

* Ana Moreno Collado, Navega Therapeutics, USA
Epigenome Regulation for Treatment of Chronic Pain

Chikdu Shivalila, Wave Life Sciences, USA
Short Talk: A Versatile Platform for ADAR-Mediated RNA Editing in vivo in Preclinical Models

Jia Qi Cheng-Zhang, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Short Talk: Upregulation of Disease Compensatory Gene via CRISPR Activation in Muscular Dystrophy Mice

Serena Tamura, University of California San Francisco, USA
Short Talk: CRISPR Activation to Rescue SCN2A Haploinsufficiency in Autism Spectrum Disorder

17:50—18:00
Closing Remarks (5:50pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

Caixia Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10

08:00—11:00
Delivery (8am Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* Daniel J. Siegwart, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA
Selective ORgan Targeting (SORT): A Synthetic Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) Strategy for Effective Tissue-Specific Genome Engineering

* Charles Gersbach, Duke University, USA
In Vivo Editing Approaches for Gene Therapy and Functional Genomics

James Dahlman, Georgia Tech / Emory Medical School, USA
Delivering Gene Editing Components by Testing Thousands of Nanoparticles in vivo

Coffee Break

Peter Deng, Synthego, USA
Short Talk: Mesenchymal Stem Cell Delivery for Zinc Finger Proteins in Preclinical Animal Models of Angelman Syndrome

Sean Burns, Intellia Therapeutics, USA
Short Talk: In Vivo Genome Editing of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells using Non-viral Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9

Aaron Lin, Metagenomi, USA
Short Talk: Broadening PAM Recognition of CRISPR-Associated Endonucleases by Protein Recombination

Kiara Berrios, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Short Talk: Controllable Genome Editing with Split-Engineered Base Editors

Kevin Hemphill, Horizon Discovery, USA
Short Talk: CRISPR-mediated Transcriptional Activation and Simultaneous Gene Knockout and Activation with Synthetic Guide RNAs

12:00—13:30
Networking Lounge (Joint) (12pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

15:00—17:50
Screening & Single Cell Technologies (3pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)

* John Doench, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, USA
Bridging the Variant-to-Function Chasm: Screens with Base Editor Technology

* Britt Adamson, Princeton University, USA
Single Cell Sequencing Technologies

Hyongbum Henry Kim, Yonsei University College of Medicine, South Korea
Predicting the Efficiencies and Outcomes of Genome Editing using Deep Learning

Coffee Break

Jonathan S. Weissman, Whitehead Institute, HHMI, and MIT, USA
Genome-Wide Programmable Transcriptional Memory by CRISPR-Based Epigenome Editing

Alberto Ciccia, Columbia University, USA
Short Talk: Functional Interrogation of DNA Damage Response Variants with Base Editing Screens

Brian Cosgrove, Duke University, USA
Short Talk: Harnessing Epigenetic Editing Tools to Identify and Modulate Mechanically-Activated Genomic Enhancers

Pratiksha Thakore, Broad Institute, USA
[NOT AVAILABLE ON DEMAND] Short Talk: Toward Genome-Scale Single-Cell Screens with Multi-Modal Perturb-Seq

Sarah E. Pierce, Eikon Therapeutics, USA
Short Talk: Spear-ATAC: Pooled, Droplet-Based, Single-Cell Chromatin Accessibility CRISPR Screens

17:50—18:00
Closing Remarks (5:50pm Denver/Mountain Time Start)


*Session Chair †Invited, not yet responded.



We gratefully acknowledge the generous grant for this conference provided by:


National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant No. IOS_1942422

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by IOS_1942422 from the National Science Foundation. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the National Science Foundation.


We gratefully acknowledge additional support for this conference from:

DCVC Bio

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