Genome Editing and AI-Driven Innovations for Climate-Resilient Orphan and Regional Crops

Orphan and regionally significant crops such as millets, cowpea, pigeon pea, quinoa, peanut, and cassava are vital for local food security and nutrition but remain underutilized in modern agriculture. These crops often lack the genetic diversity, yield stability, stress tolerance, and nutritional quality required for sustainable production under changing climates. Advances in genome editing, particularly CRISPR/Cas technologies, now provide powerful tools to enhance yield, resilience, and nutritional traits in these crops. By leveraging with artificial intelligence and machine learning, researchers can precisely optimize guide RNA design, accurately predict off-target effects, and accelerate genome-wide trait discovery. Despite these promising innovations, the application of cutting-edge biotechnologies to orphan and regional crops is still limited, underscoring the need for greater research attention to unlock their full potential for climate-resilient agriculture.

This Research Topic aims to explore the potential of CRISPR/Cas and related genome editing technologies to improve regionally important crops. It emphasizes genome editing strategies for yield enhancement, stress tolerance, and nutritional improvement, alongside the integration of computational and Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools, including AI-based guide RNA design, off-target prediction, and genome-wide target prioritization. Furthermore, it will address challenges in translating laboratory findings to field applications, navigating regulatory frameworks, and promoting farmer adoption.

The pressing challenges of climate change, increasing food demand, and environmental stresses highlight the urgent need to expand crop improvement efforts beyond major cereals and oilseeds. Orphan and regionally significant crops, though vital to local food security and nutrition, have historically received limited research attention and investment. This has left a significant gap in their genetic improvement and adaptation to changing climates. The goal of this Research Topic is to address this gap by bringing together cutting-edge research on next-generation genome editing and AI-driven approaches to accelerate the improvement of these crops.

Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing have revolutionized our ability to precisely manipulate genes governing yield, stress tolerance, and nutritional quality. Novel delivery systems, such as DNA-free editing platforms and mobile RNA technologies, are opening new possibilities for editing crops that have been traditionally recalcitrant to transformation. Meanwhile, AI and machine learning are transforming guide RNA design, off-target prediction, and target prioritization, thereby increasing precision and efficiency in genome editing. By integrating these innovations, researchers can unlock the full potential of underutilized crops to contribute to climate resilience, yield stability, and global food and nutritional security.

We accept articles on, but not limited to, the below:

• Genome editing for yield stability and nutritional enhancement
• Enhancing climate resilience
• AI and machine learning applications in genome editing
• Pathways for field translation of CRISPR-edited lines
• Innovations in genome editing technologies, including prime and base editing
• Socio-economic impacts on food security and regional agricultural systems

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: genome editing, CRISPR/Cas, orphan crops, climate resilience, AI-driven plant biotechnology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.