Rewriting wheat karyotypes through centromere-targeted chromosome engineering.

Centromere editing in hexaploid wheat using CRISPR-Cas9 induces genome-wide chromosome cleavage, generating diverse karyotypic variants that reconfigure up to 11 chromosomes in one generation.

• Why it matters: Restructuring gigabase-scale polyploid crop genomes is challenging, limiting genetic and breeding potential; centromere-targeted engineering offers a route to redesign karyotypes.
• What they did: The approach targets abundant centromeric retrotransposons in hexaploid wheat with CRISPR-Cas9, producing simultaneous cleavage and diverse karyotypic variants, including lines with six translocation events across seven chromosomes.
• The result: Newly formed translocation chromosomes undergo centromere remodelling, enabling relatively stable, heritable transmission; balanced translocations show minimal transcriptional perturbation and normal growth.