Genome editing in cereal crops: an overview

• Published in: Transgenic research Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 461 - 498
• Main Authors: Matres, Jerlie Mhay, Hilscher, Julia, Datta, Akash, Armario-Nájera, Victoria, Baysal, Can, He, Wenshu, Huang, Xin, Zhu, Changfu, Valizadeh-Kamran, Rana, Trijatmiko, Kurniawan R., Capell, Teresa, Christou, Paul, Stoger, Eva, Slamet-Loedin, Inez H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.08.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Animal Genetics and Genomics; barley; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Cereals; Climate change; Climate effects; corn; CRISPR-Cas Systems; Crop improvement; Crops; Crops, Agricultural - genetics; Edible Grain - genetics; Gene Editing; Gene Targeting; Genetic Engineering; genome; Genome editing; Genome Editing in Plants; Genome, Plant; Genomes; grain quality; Life Sciences; Molecular Medicine; nutrient content; plant architecture; Plant Breeding - methods; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; rice; Transgenics; wheat; Barley; Maize; Talens; CRISPR/Cas9; Wheat; Rice
• ISSN: 0962-8819; 1573-9368; 1573-9368
• DOI: 10.1007/s11248-021-00259-6

Genome-editing technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for crop improvement with superior precision and speed. This review presents an analysis of the current state of genome editing in the major cereal crops- rice, maize, wheat and barley. Genome editing has been used to achieve important agronomic and quality traits in cereals. These include adaptive traits to mitigate the effects of climate change, tolerance to biotic stresses, higher yields, more optimal plant architecture, improved grain quality and nutritional content, and safer products. Not all traits can be achieved through genome editing, and several technical and regulatory challenges need to be overcome for the technology to realize its full potential. Genome editing, however, has already revolutionized cereal crop improvement and is poised to shape future agricultural practices in conjunction with other breeding innovations.