Evaluation of Agronomic Performance of Mutant Rice Lines of Mentik Wangi Variety (Oryza sativa L.) Resulting from OSSWEET11 Gene Editing

Bacterial leaf blight, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv.oryzae (Xoo), is a major disease that significantly reduces rice yields.A local variety of Central Java, Mentik Wangi, has several unique characteristics that are favored by consumers, such as a soft texture and a distinctive fragrant aroma.Despite its advantages, Mentik Wangi is susceptible to bacterial leaf blight because Xoo targets the susceptibility gene OsSWEET11.CRISPR/Cas9 technology can induce resistance by mutating the gene's promoter, preventing its recognition by Xoo.This study aimed to observe the phenotypic traits of T1 mutant lines of Mentik Wangi rice edited using CRISPR/Cas9.T1 seeds derived from T0 parents were analyzed for agronomic traits, including plant height, tiller number, flowering time, and grain weight.Dunnett's test showed no significant differences between mutant lines and their wild-type parents, suggesting no pleiotropic effects from the OsSWEET11 mutation.These results indicate that mutating susceptibility genes can be a viable approach for developing bacterial leaf blight-tolerant rice without compromising agronomic performance.However, molecular analyses are needed to confirm the inheritance of mutations and correlate them with agronomic traits in the T1 generation.This study demonstrates the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in breeding disease-resistant rice varieties.