The Omega project aims to use CRISPR/Cas and the moss Physcomitrium patens to develop a synthetic biology platform to modify plant genomes at the megabase (Mb) scale. The main objectives of this project are to (1) perform a genome-wide CRISPR screen to determine gene essentiality in lab conditions, (2) find an approach to perform precise and efficient Mb deletions of non-coding DNA, and (3) use site-specific recombination for genomic restructuring.

Overview of Ulva research projects.

A main goal of the lab is to create efficient, precise and predictable genome editing tools for a wide range of plant species. We currently work on optimizing Cas12a-mediated base editing for crops using directed evolution. Additionally, we develop genome editing toolboxes for species such as Ulva and microalgae.

Microalgae such as Nannochloropsis and Chlorella are attractive sources of biomass for food, feed, and industrial applications. For a long time, their use in biotechnology was limited by a lack of molecular tools. This is now beginning to change: while transfection and gene-editing methods are still developing, the growing availability of genome sequences is laying the foundation to start exploring targeted gene editing to better understand and improve these species for biotechnological use.