A gene-editing/complementation strategy for tissue-specific lignin reduction while preserving biomass yield.

The method provides a rapid approach for generating reduced lignin trees or crops with one single transformation event, and, paired with a range of tissue-specific promoters, provides a general strategy for optimizing loss-of-function traits that are associated with growth penalties. This method should be applicable to any plant species in which transformation and gene editing are feasible and validated vessel-specific promoters are available.