Crop Quality Improvement Through Genome Editing Strategy

Yihao Yang; Chenda Xu; Ziyan Shen; Changjie Yan

doi:10.3389/fgeed.2021.819687

Crop Quality Improvement Through Genome Editing Strategy

Front Genome Ed. 2022 Jan 31:3:819687. doi: 10.3389/fgeed.2021.819687. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yihao Yang^{1

2

3}, Chenda Xu^{1

2}, Ziyan Shen^{1

2}, Changjie Yan^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Yangzhou, China.
² Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou, China.
³ Department of Crop Genetics and Breeding, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.

Abstract

Good quality of crops has always been the most concerning aspect for breeders and consumers. However, crop quality is a complex trait affected by both the genetic systems and environmental factors, thus, it is difficult to improve through traditional breeding strategies. Recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system, enabling efficiently targeted modification, has revolutionized the field of quality improvement in most crops. In this review, we briefly review the various genome editing ability of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, such as gene knockout, knock-in or replacement, base editing, prime editing, and gene expression regulation. In addition, we highlight the advances in crop quality improvement applying the CRISPR/Cas9 system in four main aspects: macronutrients, micronutrients, anti-nutritional factors and others. Finally, the potential challenges and future perspectives of genome editing in crop quality improvement is also discussed.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; crop; gene editing; improvement; quality.

Publication types

Review