Applications of CRISPR in crop improvement
Keywords:
CRISPR, gene editing, crop improvement, agricultural biotechnology, disease resistance, sustainable agriculture.Abstract
Growing global food demand, the effects of climate change, natural resource degradation, and the incidence of pests and diseases represent major challenges for contemporary agriculture. In this context, CRISPR-based gene-editing technologies have gained relevance as tools to accelerate and improve plant breeding processes. The objective of this article was to analyse, through a narrative review of the literature, the main applications of CRISPR in crop improvement, considering its technological foundations, agronomic applications, benefits, limitations, and future prospects. The review covered scientific literature and specialised documents related to plant gene editing, disease resistance, tolerance to abiotic stress, improvement of productive and nutritional traits, base editing, and prime editing. The evidence examined shows that CRISPR enables targeted genetic modifications to be developed with greater precision and speed than certain conventional breeding procedures. Its main applications include the development of crops resistant to pathogens, tolerant to drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures, as well as improvements in yield, nutritional quality, and post-harvest traits. Recent advances in base editing and prime editing expand the possibilities for making specific modifications without necessarily generating double-strand breaks in DNA. However, challenges remain regarding plant transformation and regeneration efficiency, unintended effects, regulatory frameworks, social acceptance, intellectual property, and equitable access to technologies. It is concluded that CRISPR represents a strategic tool for crop improvement and sustainable agriculture, although its responsible development requires scientific research, risk assessment, adaptive regulation, and mechanisms capable of facilitating access to its benefits.
Downloads
References
Abdelrahman, M., Al-Sadi, A. M., Pour-Aboughadareh, A., Burritt, D. J., & Tran, L. S. P. (2021). Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis: An opportunity for yield improvements of crop plants grown under environmental stresses. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 159, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.12.012
Ahmad, S., Wei, X., Sheng, Z., Hu, P., & Tang, S. (2020). CRISPR/Cas9 for development of disease resistance in plants: Recent progress, limitations and future perspectives. Briefings in Functional Genomics, 19(1), 26–39. https://doi.org/10.1093/bfgp/elz041
Chen, K., Wang, Y., Zhang, R., Zhang, H., & Gao, C. (2019). CRISPR/Cas genome editing and precision plant breeding in agriculture. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 70, 667–697. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-050718-100049
ChileBio. (2021, 5 de agosto). CRISPR siembra “semillas de cambio” en biotecnología agrícola: Mayor precisión y menor regulación. https://www.chilebio.cl/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2022). Gene editing and agrifood systems. https://www.fao.org/
Gaillochet, C., Develtere, W., & Jacobs, T. B. (2021). CRISPR screens in plants: Approaches, guidelines, and future prospects. The Plant Cell, 33(4), 794–813. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaa021
Gao, C. (2021). Genome engineering for crop improvement and future agriculture. Cell, 184(6), 1621–1635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.005
Jaganathan, D., Ramasamy, K., Sellamuthu, G., Jayabalan, S., & Venkataraman, G. (2018). CRISPR for crop improvement: An update review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, 985. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00985
Li, J., Manghwar, H., Sun, L., Wang, P., Wang, G., Sheng, H., Zhang, J., Liu, H., Qin, L., Rui, H., Li, B., Lindsey, K., & Zhang, X. (2019). Whole genome sequencing reveals rare off-target mutations and considerable inherent genetic or/and somaclonal variations in CRISPR/Cas9-edited cotton plants. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 17(5), 858–868. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13020
Li, Z., Zhong, Z., Wu, Z., Pausch, P., Al-Shayeb, B., Amerasekera, J., Doudna, J. A., & Jacobsen, S. E. (2023). Genome editing in plants using the compact editor CasΦ. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(4), e2216822120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216822120
Molla, K. A., & Yang, Y. (2019). CRISPR/Cas-mediated base editing: Technical considerations and practical applications. Trends in Biotechnology, 37(10), 1121–1142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.03.008
Naik, B., Kumar, V., & Khare, S. (2022). CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for sustainable agriculture and crop improvement. Biotechnology Reports, 33, e00709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2022.e00709
Razzaq, A., Saleem, F., Kanwal, M., Mustafa, G., Yousaf, S., Arshad, H. M. I., Hameed, M. K., Khan, M. S., & Joyia, F. A. (2019). Modern trends in plant genome editing: An inclusive review of the CRISPR/Cas9 toolbox. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(16), 4045. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20164045
Schindele, P., Wolter, F., & Puchta, H. (2018). Transforming plant biology and breeding with CRISPR/Cas9, Cas12 and Cas13. FEBS Letters, 592(12), 1954–1967. https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.13073
Strobbe, S., Wesana, J., Van Der Straeten, D., & De Steur, H. (2023). Public acceptance and stakeholder views of gene edited foods: A global overview. Trends in Biotechnology, 41(6), 736–740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.12.011
Tachikawa, M., & Matsuo, M. (2023). Divergence and convergence in international regulatory policies regarding genome-edited food: How to find a middle ground. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1105426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1105426
Tang, Q., Wang, X., Jin, X., Peng, J., Zhang, H., & Wang, Y. (2023). CRISPR/Cas technology revolutionizes crop breeding. Plants, 12(17), 3119. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12173119
Veillet, F., Durand, M., Kroj, T., Cesbron, S., & Gallois, J. L. (2020). Precision breeding made real with CRISPR: Illustration through genetic resistance to pathogens. Plant Communications, 1(5), 100102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2020.100102
Wada, N., Ueta, R., Osakabe, Y., & Osakabe, K. (2020). Precision genome editing in plants: State-of-the-art in CRISPR/Cas9-based genome engineering. BMC Plant Biology, 20, 234. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-020-02385-5
Zhu, H., Li, C., & Gao, C. (2020). Applications of CRISPR–Cas in agriculture and plant biotechnology. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 21, 661–677. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-020-00288-9
