A large-scale whole-genome sequencing analysis reveals highly specific genome editing by both Cas9 and Cpf1 nucleases in rice

Targeting specificity has been an essential issue for applying genome editing systems in functional genomics, precise medicine and plant breeding. Understanding the scope of off-target mutations in Cas9 or Cpf1-edited crops is critical for research and regulation. In plants, only limited studies had used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to test off-target effects of Cas9. However, the cause of numerous discovered mutations is still controversial. Furthermore, WGS based off-target analysis of Cpf1 has not been reported in any higher organism to date. Here, we conducted a WGS analysis of 34 plants edited by Cas9 and 15 plants edited by Cpf1 in T0 and T1 generations along with 20 diverse control plants in rice, a major food crop with a genome size of ~380 Mb. The sequencing depth ranged from 45X to 105X with reads mapping rate above 96%. Our results clearly show that most mutations in edited plants were created by tissue culture process, which caused ~102 to 148 single nucleotide variations (SNVs) and ~32 to 83 insertions/deletions (indels) per plant. Among 12 Cas9 single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) and 3 Cpf1 CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) assessed by WGS, only one Cas9 sgRNA resulted in off-target mutations in T0 lines at sites predicted by computer programs. Moreover, we cannot find evidence for bona fide off-target mutations due to continued expression of Cas9 or Cpf1 with guide RNAs in T1 generation. Taken together, our comprehensive and rigorous analysis of WGS big data across multiple sample types suggests both Cas9 and Cpf1 nucleases are very specific in generating targeted DNA modifications and off-targeting can be avoided by designing guide RNAs with high specificity.