About this Research Topic

Background

CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing has become an essential tool in molecular biology and has revolutionized nearly every field of biotechnology. It significantly facilitates basic research, mainly aimed at studying the genes' function through their knockout or overexpression. However, the main application of the CRISPR system is to obtain plants that will cope better in an ever-changing climate that is becoming less favorable to high plant production. The use of precise genome editing seems to be much safer than traditional mutagenesis or transgenics, especially since the changes often involve single nucleotides and are not necessarily related to the presence of foreign DNA in the modified genome. Even though CRISPR tools are very dynamically developed and constantly improved, there are still many challenges that must be overcome.

The goal of this Research Topic is to provide new tools for efficient and precise editing of plant genomes, as well as show their application to overcome current problems in agriculture and food security. Currently, many tools have been developed to allow editing of the target loci. Unfortunately, the tools that are often available show low efficiency for certain plant species or tend to induce unintended mutations at off-target sites. The possibility of achieving efficient genome editing is also directly related to the development of transformation techniques and the delivery of essential CRISPR system components to plant cells, which is often much more complicated than in the case of animal cells.

Authors are encouraged to submit original research, opinions, mini-reviews, and review articles on the following sub-topics:

• CRISPR/Cas technology: new tools and the latest developments
• Modifications to CRISPR components and their delivery methods
• On-target and off-target analysis methods
• Application of CRISPR to plant improvement, overcoming abiotic and biotic stresses, and food security

Keywords: CRISPR, cas based genome editing, plant biotechnology, plant production

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