About this Research Topic

Background

Research in the area of plant genome editing has been rapidly accelerating in the recent years due to its promising role in crop improvement and gene function identification. Starting from TALENS, ZFN and CRISPR/Cas9-based editing, targeted genome and epigenome editing offers promising strategies for non-GM crop improvement. This includes identification of gene functions, targeted knock-out, creation of newer alleles and epialleles. Plant genome editing faces the challenge of standardization for every new crop and this includes finding a suitable transformation vector, and cloning the editing construct with appropriate genes and promoters. Removal of the editing reagents in plants may take multiple generations and hence the developments in transient expression are desirable. Considering the diverse demands of plant systems, this area demands appreciable focus.

In this Research Topic, we would like to cover recent advances in genome and epigenome editing in plants, which include original research articles, reviews and opinions. Latest research on efficient screening methods of edited plants, newer methodologies for precision gene targeting, and multiplex editing are also desirable. Editing of newer crops needs to be reported describing their molecular screening and confirmation strategies in detail. The identification of novel genes from newer plant sources should include their functional characterization, the creation of their allelic version, and examples of their applications in agriculture and metabolomics. Furthermore, issues related to off-target mutations, strategies to reduce the generation time, and using novel vectors for transient expression in plants are also important. A promising development includes analyzing various versions of the Cas protein with specific applications such as targeted-mutagenesis and multiplexing. Other applications are the fusion of different proteins with Cas, especially those involved in epigenome editing.

We welcome submissions of original research articles, reviews and opinions covering the below areas, but not limited to:

• Editing of novel genes from new resources, their functional characterization, screening, and molecular methods used for confirmation
• Genome editing for crop improvements, especially novel crops and the challenges faced
• Epigenome editing and advancements in this area
• Newer strategies to address off-target mutations, and the reduction of generation time
• New examples of multiplexing, and the development of strategies for multiplexing
• Reporting novel strategies of genome/epigenome editing, including refined versions of the editing reagents

Keywords: Genome editing, Plant, Epigenome editing, CRISPR-Cas, Crop improvement

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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