Development of a CRISPR-FISH toolset for imaging of genomic loci in living plants and its application to study the centromere structure and the process of chromosome condensation in living cells

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Andreas Houben
• Subject Area: Plant Genetics and Genomics
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 358939560

Elucidating how the genome is spatio-temporally organised inside the nucleus is imperative to understand the regulation of genes and non-coding sequences during development. Emerging techniques of chromatin imaging promise to bridge the long-standing gap between sequencing studies disclosing genomic information and imaging studies providing spatial and temporal information. The project aims to harness the CRISPR-Cas9 system to develop a pioneering tool to visualize defined genomic loci in living cells of eudicot- (A. thaliana, carrot, N. benthamiana) and monocot (wheat) plants. This innovative technology will be used to analyse the centromere organization and the process of chromosome condensation in living plant cells.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants