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Reducing the height of maize plants is one of the most pressing tasks in breeding this crop. Until recently, all methods of improving tropical corn varieties were limited to classical breeding. However, we have recently developed a genome editing method for tropical maize, which allows the application of targeted gene modification methods to enhance the most important traits. Gibberellin (GA) 20-oxidase (GA20ox) genes are known to control plant height. In this study, genome editing approach was applied to the GA20ox gene family in few tropical maize lines with the aim of reducing plant height.

Modification of multiple genes of the Ga20ox gene family was performed on three tropical maize lines from the CIMMYT collection and temperate model line B104. In all lines, a wide range of phenotypes in the T0 generation associated with mutations in the target genes was obtained. Some T0 regenerant plants from two tropical lines were used to produce the next generation through self-pollination. In the T1 generation, phenotypes obtained in the T0 generation were reproduced, and several new phenotypes associated with changes in plant height and shape were also identified.