Targeted Genome Editing in Crops

In recent years, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has become a powerful tool for plant molecular biology and breeding. Within this area of research, CRISPR/Cas9 has been successfully used for targeted mutagenesis, gene knockouts, multiplex gene editing, single base substitutions, and regulation of gene transcription. CRISPR/Cas9 has many applications suitable for improving plant productivity, disease resistance, and resilience to climate change and global warming. Thus, CRISPR/Cas9 system is currently revolutionizing plant genome engineering and expanding its application due to its high efficiency, facile engineering, and robustness.

CRISPR/Cas9 has shown remarkable advancements in plant molecular biology., However, important challenges of this genome editing technology in crops still lays ahead. For example, the establishment of efficient and genotype-independent delivery methods and improvement of gene-targeting efficiency has yet to be standardized. In addition, regulatory and ethical considerations that may limit the wide applications of these technologies must be addressed. Consequently, continuous efforts are required to overcome these obstacles in order to increase the experimental versatility and applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 toolbox in the near future. Nevertheless, the fate of the CRISPR- based products in crop improvement programs will be mainly the decision of the regulatory authorities across the world. Nevertheless, targeted genome editing technologies are poised to reshape the future of crop improvement and food security to feed the world’s growing population and to develop sustainable agriculture worldwide.