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Canola ( Brassica napus L.) is a valuable oilseed crop worldwide. However, trait improvement by breeding has been limited by its low genetic diversity and polyploid genetics. Whilst offering many potential benefits, the application of transgenic technology is challenged by the stringent and expensive regulatory processes associated with the commercialisation of genetically modified organisms, coupled with a prevailing low public acceptance of such modifications. DNA-free genome editing using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) offers a promising way to achieve trait improvements without the limitations of transgenic methods. Here, we present a method for DNA-free genome editing via the direct delivery of RNPs to canola mesophyll protoplasts. This method allows high-throughput in vivo testing of the efficacy of gRNA design as part of the transformation process to facilitate the selection of optimal designs prior to the generation of edited events. Of the 525 shoots regenerated via tissue culture from RNP-transfected protoplasts and screened for the presence of mutations in the targeted gene, 62% had one or more mutated target alleles, and 50% had biallelic mutations at both targeted loci. This high editing efficiency compares favourably with similar CRISPR-Cas9 approaches used in other crop plants., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Sahab, Runa, Ponnampalam, Kay, Jaya, Viduka, Panter, Tibbits and Hayden.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of interests None are declared by the authors.

Purpose: Sexual and relationship violence has devasting effects on the health and well-being of college students. This study assessed the prevalence of dating abuse victimization and harassment among sexual and gender minority (SGM) college students within the first 3 months of college enrollment and identified potential demographic differences in exposure. Methods: Data are from the 2020 to 2021 Sexual Assault Prevention for Undergraduates digital sexual assault prevention program ( N  = 250,359). Descriptive statistics were used to determine 3-month prevalence of dating abuse victimization and harassment among gender identity and sexual orientation subgroups and to examine within-group differences based on race and ethnicity. Results: Dating abuse victimization during college was reported by 6.5% of transgender women, 5.0% of transgender men, 5.0% of genderqueer/nonconforming students, 2.0% of "women," and 1.0% of "men." Harassment during college was reported by 13.7% of genderqueer/nonconforming students, 11.2% of transgender women, 8.9% of transgender men, 8.7% of "women," and 1.6% of "men." Students who identified with more than one sexual orientation identity reported the highest rates of dating abuse (3.9%) and harassment (14.9%) during college. SGM students with particular racial/ethnic identities (i.e., Indigenous, multiracial) reported disproportionately higher rates, particularly American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students who identified as transgender men (42.9%), transgender women (41.7%), genderqueer/nonconforming students (26.1%), queer/pansexual/questioning students (20%), and students with multiple sexual orientation identities (36.4%). Conclusion: Targeted intervention strategies and resources are needed on college campuses to support the needs and experiences of SGM students, including students who identify as Indigenous, multiracial, and other persons of color.

Soil salinity can impose substantial stress on plant growth and cause significant yield losses. Crop varieties tolerant to salinity stress are needed to sustain yields in saline soils. This requires effective genotyping and phenotyping of germplasm pools to identify novel genes and QTL conferring salt tolerance that can be utilised in crop breeding schemes. We investigated a globally diverse collection of 580 wheat accessions for their growth response to salinity using automated digital phenotyping performed under controlled environmental conditions. The results show that digitally collected plant traits, including digital shoot growth rate and digital senescence rate, can be used as proxy traits for selecting salinity-tolerant accessions. A haplotype-based genome-wide association study was conducted using 58,502 linkage disequilibrium-based haplotype blocks derived from 883,300 genome-wide SNPs and identified 95 QTL for salinity tolerance component traits, of which 54 were novel and 41 overlapped with previously reported QTL. Gene ontology analysis identified a suite of candidate genes for salinity tolerance, some of which are already known to play a role in stress tolerance in other plant species. This study identified wheat accessions that utilise different tolerance mechanisms and which can be used in future studies to investigate the genetic and genic basis of salinity tolerance. Our results suggest salinity tolerance has not arisen from or been bred into accessions from specific regions or groups. Rather, they suggest salinity tolerance is widespread, with small-effect genetic variants contributing to different levels of tolerance in diverse, locally adapted germplasm.