Anionic polymers stabilize Cas9 ribonucleoprotein nanoparticles to improve direct protein delivery and genome editing efficiencies in plant protoplasts

Abstract The application of CRISPR-based genome editing tools in plants is often challenged by low editing efficiencies, requiring most plant editing workflows to proceed through the delivery of pre-formed ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes to protoplasts. Here, we report increases in protoplast-based RNP delivery and genome editing efficiencies through the addition of anionic polymers to standard protoplast transfection protocols. We test addition of various polymers and peptides for their ability to increase genome editing efficiencies in both Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts, by adding these components to standard PEG-based protoplast transfection protocols: i) non-covalent addition of charged polymers, ii) non-covalent addition of amphiphilic peptide A5K, and iii) tyrosinase-mediated covalent conjugation of various relevant peptide motifs directly to the RNP. Incorporation of the amphiphilic peptide A5K or covalent attachment of peptides to the RNP had no positive effect on editing efficiencies. However, we found that addition of anionic polymer polyglutamic acid to standard PEG transfection protocols significantly improved editing efficiencies in both Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts relative to RNPs alone without negatively impacting protoplast viability. Our results suggest anionic polymers stabilize the RNP and increase the colloidal stability of the protoplast transfection workflow. This simple and straightforward method of stabilizing Cas9 RNPs can be easily adopted by others working on direct protein delivery to plant protoplasts to increase genome editing efficiencies. Key message The addition of anionic polymer polyglutamic acid to standard protoplast PEG transfection workflows enhance CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing in plant protoplasts. Our results suggest the mechanism of increased transfection efficiency is due to colloidal stabilization of RNPs. Graphical Abstract