About this Research Topic
Crop breeding, a practice dating back to the origins of agriculture, involves modifying plants to suit human needs. Traditional breeding has limitations, including time-consuming processes and labor-intensive efforts. Transgenic methods suffer from a negative public opinion and face substantial regulatory hurdles. In contrast, genome editing is a more effective and versatile approach for trait enhancement, which receives broader acceptance among the public. Particularly, the recently developed CRISPR-Cas based tools allow various programmable modifications in plant genomes. These include creating gene knock-outs by inducing double-stranded breaks, introducing beneficial mutations through more precise base and prime editing, or altering gene activity through transcriptional activation/repression and epigenome editing. In light of the recent loosening of regulatory policies by governmental bodies, particularly in the US and EU, genome editing has the potential to revolutionize agriculture by enhancing crop yields and nutritional quality.
The projected rise in global population requires concurrent increases in agricultural output to ensure worldwide food security. Likewise, the rise of diet-related, non-communicable diseases necessitates the consumption of more nutritious crops to help mitigate the prevalence of hidden hunger, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. The sustainable approach is to improve the yield and nutritional value of the most widely consumed crops (e.g., rice, maize, wheat, potato, soybean) and not expand the amount of land allocated to agriculture, as this puts stress on the environment.
Crop yield can be improved by targeting traits related to photosynthesis, nutrient uptake and utilization, plant architecture, storage organ number/size/weight, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and postharvest storage. Similarly, the nutritional quality of crops can be enhanced through macronutrient (e.g., carbohydrate, protein, oil) or micronutrient (e.g., vitamins, antioxidants, minerals) engineering, as well as by reducing antinutrient content. Despite the recent advancements, there is a growing need for further research in crop trait modification. Genome editing can help engineer these traits faster and easier than ever, heralding a new era of precision agriculture.
We invite contributions to our Research Topic, which will explore innovative advancements in genome editing techniques applied to crop plants. Specifically, we encourage manuscripts addressing the following themes:
-Yield enhancement through genome editing: Strategies to boost plant productivity and efficiency.
-Developing stress-resistant crops with enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic challenges.
-Biofortification and the reduction of antinutrients using precise genome editing.
-Innovations in genome editing for the production of beneficial secondary metabolites.
-Novel genome editing tools and their application in transgene-free crop breeding.
Submissions related to the development of novel genome editing tools that demonstrate the potential of trait improvement as well as proof of concept studies that demonstrate transgene-free gene editing are also encouraged. We welcome Original Research, Review, and Perspective articles that contribute to the field of sustainable crop improvement using genome editing techniques.
The projected rise in global population requires concurrent increases in agricultural output to ensure worldwide food security. Likewise, the rise of diet-related, non-communicable diseases necessitates the consumption of more nutritious crops to help mitigate the prevalence of hidden hunger, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. The sustainable approach is to improve the yield and nutritional value of the most widely consumed crops (e.g., rice, maize, wheat, potato, soybean) and not expand the amount of land allocated to agriculture, as this puts stress on the environment.
Crop yield can be improved by targeting traits related to photosynthesis, nutrient uptake and utilization, plant architecture, storage organ number/size/weight, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and postharvest storage. Similarly, the nutritional quality of crops can be enhanced through macronutrient (e.g., carbohydrate, protein, oil) or micronutrient (e.g., vitamins, antioxidants, minerals) engineering, as well as by reducing antinutrient content. Despite the recent advancements, there is a growing need for further research in crop trait modification. Genome editing can help engineer these traits faster and easier than ever, heralding a new era of precision agriculture.
We invite contributions to our Research Topic, which will explore innovative advancements in genome editing techniques applied to crop plants. Specifically, we encourage manuscripts addressing the following themes:
-Yield enhancement through genome editing: Strategies to boost plant productivity and efficiency.
-Developing stress-resistant crops with enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic challenges.
-Biofortification and the reduction of antinutrients using precise genome editing.
-Innovations in genome editing for the production of beneficial secondary metabolites.
-Novel genome editing tools and their application in transgene-free crop breeding.
Submissions related to the development of novel genome editing tools that demonstrate the potential of trait improvement as well as proof of concept studies that demonstrate transgene-free gene editing are also encouraged. We welcome Original Research, Review, and Perspective articles that contribute to the field of sustainable crop improvement using genome editing techniques.
Keywords: crop breeding, genome editing, CRISPR, crop yield, genomics, stress tolerance, biotic stress, abiotic stress, secondary metabolites, CRISPR-Cas9
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.
