Research Topic Highlights
This collection addresses recent advancements in genome editing technologies applied specifically to rice (Oryza sativa) breeding for enhancing crop productivity, nutritional value, and stress resilience. Across the articles, the CRISPR-Cas system, including variants such as CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12a, base editors, and prime editors, is highlighted as fundamental for precise, targeted modifications improving rice's yield, micronutrient content (such as iron and zinc), disease resistance, and overall agronomic performance. Gene editing methods such as homology-directed repair (HDR), non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), and transgene-free approaches through reproductive cell-based editing and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) delivery are explored for their accurate and efficient genetic alterations. The studies emphasize the importance of developing genetically improved rice varieties, using sustainable techniques that minimize off-target effects and regulatory concerns. Potential ethical and regulatory considerations, alongside future avenues for deploying genetically edited rice crops, are also discussed, illustrating the broader significance of these technological innovations for food security and sustainability.
Context and Scope
Plant Breeding played a key role in feeding the world population by achieving higher yield with enhanced resistance for biotic and abiotic stresses. Globally 689 million people are living in extreme poverty, and this number is increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa than on other continents due to drought and biotic stresses in agriculture. Conventional breeding approaches take 6-8 years to breed a variety, and linkage drag is one of the major issues in this approach. The genome editing tool CRIPSR holds a massive promise to protect crops against various stressors under the present changing climatic scenarios, and to achieve sustainable crop yield.
New and emerging diseases on several crops pose a risk to food security, global ecosystems and economy. These diseases can be caused by a wide-ranging range of microorganisms which include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and phytoplasmas. Within a few years, emerging diseases have caused severe losses to the farmers leading global economic importance.
For example, rice false smut and sheath rot diseases were considered to be minor and now become major threats in inbred and hybrid rice cultivations across the world. Most of the hybrids from several crops are highly susceptible to emerging diseases which limit the production of higher yield. Therefore, managing new and emerging diseases gains importance by implementing molecular tools to survey the pathogens and develop broad spectrum resistance.
CRIPSR tools provide a fast track gene editing approach and provide benefits to the breeders by target editing of multiple genes (stacking) in popular crop cultivars to increase the productivity, which will be beneficial to small-scale farmers across the globe. Our Research Topic offers to the possibility to authors to submit their original research articles, reviews and opinions covering the following areas:
1. CRISPR editing for emerging biotic stresses
2. CRISPR editing to develop hybrid parental lines
3. CRISPR editing as a breeding tool in crop plants for yield
Research Topic Highlights
This collection addresses recent advancements in genome editing technologies applied specifically to rice (Oryza sativa) breeding for enhancing crop productivity, nutritional value, and stress resilience. Across the articles, the CRISPR-Cas system, including variants such as CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12a, base editors, and prime editors, is highlighted as fundamental for precise, targeted modifications improving rice's yield, micronutrient content (such as iron and zinc), disease resistance, and overall agronomic performance. Gene editing methods such as homology-directed repair (HDR), non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), and transgene-free approaches through reproductive cell-based editing and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) delivery are explored for their accurate and efficient genetic alterations. The studies emphasize the importance of developing genetically improved rice varieties, using sustainable techniques that minimize off-target effects and regulatory concerns. Potential ethical and regulatory considerations, alongside future avenues for deploying genetically edited rice crops, are also discussed, illustrating the broader significance of these technological innovations for food security and sustainability.
Context and Scope
Plant Breeding played a key role in feeding the world population by achieving higher yield with enhanced resistance for biotic and abiotic stresses. Globally 689 million people are living in extreme poverty, and this number is increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa than on other continents due to drought and biotic stresses in agriculture. Conventional breeding approaches take 6-8 years to breed a variety, and linkage drag is one of the major issues in this approach. The genome editing tool CRIPSR holds a massive promise to protect crops against various stressors under the present changing climatic scenarios, and to achieve sustainable crop yield.
New and emerging diseases on several crops pose a risk to food security, global ecosystems and economy. These diseases can be caused by a wide-ranging range of microorganisms which include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and phytoplasmas. Within a few years, emerging diseases have caused severe losses to the farmers leading global economic importance.
For example, rice false smut and sheath rot diseases were considered to be minor and now become major threats in inbred and hybrid rice cultivations across the world. Most of the hybrids from several crops are highly susceptible to emerging diseases which limit the production of higher yield. Therefore, managing new and emerging diseases gains importance by implementing molecular tools to survey the pathogens and develop broad spectrum resistance.
CRIPSR tools provide a fast track gene editing approach and provide benefits to the breeders by target editing of multiple genes (stacking) in popular crop cultivars to increase the productivity, which will be beneficial to small-scale farmers across the globe. Our Research Topic offers to the possibility to authors to submit their original research articles, reviews and opinions covering the following areas:
1. CRISPR editing for emerging biotic stresses
2. CRISPR editing to develop hybrid parental lines
3. CRISPR editing as a breeding tool in crop plants for yield