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Abstract
Crop breeding aims to generate pure inbred lines with multiple desired traits. Doubled
haploid (DH) and genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 are two powerful game-changing technologies
in crop breeding. However, both of them still fall short for rapid generation of pure
elite lines with integrated favorable traits. Here, we report the development of a
Haploid-Inducer Mediated Genome Editing (IMGE) approach, which utilizes a maize haploid
inducer line carrying a CRISPR/Cas9 cassette targeting for a desired agronomic trait
to pollinate an elite maize inbred line and to generate genome-edited haploids in
the elite maize background. Homozygous pure DH lines with the desired trait improvement
could be generated within two generations, thus bypassing the lengthy procedure of
repeated crossing and backcrossing used in conventional breeding for integrating a
desirable trait into elite commercial backgrounds.