Genome editing: propelling the next generation of crop improvement

Abstract

Climate change and population size records threaten food security. Therefore, the call for a more sustainable and efficient crop production has never been more urgent. Traditional plant breeding was one of the first successful approaches to expand cultivation areas and crop yield. Later, biotechnological tools and their products, such as genetically modified organisms containing exogenous DNA, further broadened the limits of agricultural results, yet bringing huge financial, bureaucratic, and public rejection hurdles. In the 90s, scientific advances brought the opportunity to drive mutations using engineered nucleases, and since 2013 CRISPR-Cas has emerged as the most practical toolkit to edit genomes. One of the most striking possibilities is to generate edited and non-transgenic plants. In this review, we present the working mechanism behind CRISPR-induced mutations and pinpoint the latest techniques developed, as well as its myriad of applications in agriculture. The enhancing scope of CRISPR ranges from introducing traits of agronomic interest – such as herbicide resistance, resistance/tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and quality and durability of products – to accelerating plant breeding processes, including haploid induction, generating male-sterile lines, fixating hybrid vigor, and overcoming self-incompatibility. We also discuss regulatory issues surrounding edited plants and derived products around the world, challenges that must be overcome, and future prospects to harness all the potential of this amazing tool to guarantee the new crop production revolution.

Phytoparasitic Nematodes of Musa spp. with Emphasis on Sources of Genetic Resistance: A Systematic Review

“…Currently, banana breeding programs are focused on the introgression of various traits, including resistance and tolerance, and productivity and fruit quality [35,36], as well as the development of strategies that can surpass agricultural limitations, setting new records for yield and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses [37]. Banana improvement programs have made significant progress in obtaining cultivars resistant to black Sigatoka and Fusarium wilt.…”

Phenolic Compounds and Oxidative Enzymes Involved in Female Fertility in Banana Plants of the Cavendish Subgroup

“…According to Scheerer et al [11], this race may affect 17% of the area under banana cultivation in the world in the next 20 years, leading to an estimated loss of 36 million tons, which is equivalent to USD 10 billion. Some approaches to mitigate the adverse effects of tropical race 4 in banana plantations have been discussed, including the development of resistant cultivars through hybridization, somaclonal variation, transgenesis, cisgenesis, and gene editing [8,10,[12][13][14].…”

“…Some approaches to mitigate the adverse effects of tropical race 4 in banana plantations have been discussed, including the development of resistant cultivars through hybridization, somaclonal variation, transgenesis, cisgenesis, and gene editing [ 8 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”