Precision Genome Editing Toolbox: Applications and Approaches for Improving Rice’s Genetic Resistance to Pathogens

Abstract

In the present scenario of a looming food crisis, improving per hectare rice productivity at a greater pace is among the topmost priorities of scientists and breeders. In the past decades, conventional, mutational, and marker-assisted breeding techniques have played a significant role in developing multiple desired rice varieties. However, due to certain limitations, these techniques cannot furnish the projected food security of the 2050 population’s aching stomachs. One of the possible options would be precise crop genome editing using various tools, viz., TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 to resolve this multifaceted crisis. Initially, the potentiality of these technologies was tested only in the rice protoplasts. Later, the techniques were employed to edit calli with help of modified vectors, CRISPR variants, cassette cloning systems, and delivery methods. With the continuous technological advancements such as base editing, multiplexing, etc., the precision, rapidness, efficiency, reliability, potency, and range of applications of these platforms have increased and even been used for gene function studies. This leads to a revolution in the field of the rice improvement program, especially the stress tolerance against various pests and pathogens in which the susceptibility factors located within the rice genome are targeted through genome editing tools. Therefore, in this current article, we have summarized the advancements in the rice genome editing tools during the last decade concerning enhanced biotic stress tolerance. Additionally, we have focused on the regulatory aspects of genome editing with associated risks and limitations, and the prospects to reshape the rice genome for durable resistance to complex biotic stress.

Bottom-up perspective – The role of roots and rhizosphere in climate change adaptation and mitigation in agroecosystems

“…The possibility to mine alleles and use this information to create crops with enhanced roots and rhizospheres for stress tolerance is made possible by the rising accessibility of these techniques and online educational resources. Additionally, cutting-edge genome editing methods can be used to precisely manipulate target regions, and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technologies are available for the improvement of crop root phenotypes (Camerlengo et al 2022;Chattopadhyay et al 2022). Future crops will also need to harness understanding of stress memory and epigenetic responses of crops to stress to be able to help deliver plastically responsive genotypes to cope with temporally variable and extreme climatic conditions (Liu et al 2022).…”

Dissecting Diagnostic and Management Strategies for Plant Viral Diseases: What Next?

“…CRISPR can also be employed to enhance the expression of genes associated with the plant's defense mechanisms. By increasing the production of proteins or signaling molecules involved in plant immunity, the plant's ability to resist infections can be bolstered [175]. Furthermore, PRRs play a crucial role in recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and triggering immune responses.…”

The potential of genome editing to create novel alleles of resistance genes in rice

“…Additionally, TALEs binding with gene activators and receptors, beyond nucleases, creates effective engineered transcriptional controllers for preferred gene expression level. In spite of TALENs’ benefits in high target specificity and little off-target effects than ZFNs exhibit, the intricate repetitive pattern within the DBD part of the TALE protein limits their application in editing multiple genomes with target specificity, and protein modification remains challenging ( Chattopadhyay et al, 2022 ). To address these issues, the utilization of programmable RNA-directed DNA endonucleases for genome editing has become increasingly popular.…”

“…Understanding these mechanisms is essential for gaining insights into the evolution of both hosts and pathogens, which can inform strategic pathogen control. In the age of genome editing with systems biology, exploring these technologies becomes imperative for optimizing plant-pathogen interactions with the goal of achieving sustainable resistance ( Chattopadhyay et al, 2022 ). The major genome editing approaches can be utilized for modifying pathogen targets in crops, controlling the host immune response, and bolstering plant immunity by intervening in pathogen-plant interactions, as demonstrated in Figure 1 ( Schenke and Cai, 2020 ).…”