Open Access

REVIEW

Application and Prospects of CRISPR/Cas Gene Editing Technology in Major Crop Molecular Breeding and Improving

Dao Yao^1,#, Junming Zhou^1,#, Yashuo Wang¹, Yuxin Li¹, Wenge Cheng², Xiaoyu Lu^2,*, Huijing Liu^1,*

1 College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
2 Jilin Biological Research Institute, Changchun, 130012, China

* Corresponding Authors: Xiaoyu Lu. Email: ; Huijing Liu. Email:
# Co-first authors

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Enhancing Grain Yield: From Molecular Mechanisms to Sustainable Agriculture)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(6), 1669-1694. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.064344

Received 12 February 2025; Accepted 26 May 2025; Issue published 27 June 2025

Abstract

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat sequences (CRISPR) and their accompanying proteins (Cas), commonly presenting in bacteria and archaea, make up the CRISPR/Cas system. As one of the fundamental sources of nutrition for humans, edible crops play a crucial role in ensuring global food security. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has been applied to improve many crop traits, such as increasing nitrogen utilization efficiency, creating male sterile germplasm, and regulating tiller and spikelet formation. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the use of CRISPR/Cas gene editing technology in crop genomes, covering the targeted genes, the types of editing that take place, the mechanism of action. Finally, we also discussed the efficiency of gene editing and pointed the future direction on how to speed up crop molecular breeding, increase breeding effectiveness, and produce more new crop varieties with high qualities.

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Keywords

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