Developing disease-resistant thermosensitive male sterile rice by multiplex gene editing.

High-quality and disease-resistant male sterile lines have great potential for applications in hybrid rice breeding. We introduced specific mutations into the TMS5, Pi21, and Xa13 genes in Pinzhan intermediate breeding material using the CRISPR/Cas9 multiplex genome editing system. We found that the transgene-free homozygous triple tms5/pi21/xa13 mutants obtained in the T1 generation displayed characteristics of thermosensitive genic male sterility (TGMS) with enhanced resistance to rice blast and bacterial blight. Our study provides a convenient and effective way of converting breeding intermediate material into TGMS lines through multiplex gene editing, which could significantly accelerate the breeding of sterile lines.