CRISPR/Cas system-mediated base editing in crops: recent developments and future prospects

Area of Science:

• Plant biotechnology
• Genome editing
• Agricultural science

Background:

• CRISPR/Cas9 enables targeted plant genome alteration for gene function studies and crop yield improvement.
• Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homology-directed repair (HDR) pathways have limitations in plant genome editing efficacy.
• Base editing emerges as a precise alternative, facilitating single base conversions without donor templates or double-strand breaks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the mechanisms of various base-editing systems, including DNA and RNA base editors.
• To outline current applications of base editing for crop improvement.
• To discuss limitations and future directions for base editing in enhancing crop quality.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on CRISPR/Cas9 and base-editing technologies.
• Analysis of DNA base editors (cytidine and adenine) and RNA base editors.
• Exploration of base-editing applications in crop improvement strategies.

Main Results:

• Base editing systems provide precise genetic modifications by converting single DNA or RNA bases.
• Various DNA and RNA base editors have been developed, offering different editing capabilities.
• The review details the mechanisms and types of base editors currently available.

Conclusions:

• Base editing presents a powerful tool for precise plant genome engineering, overcoming CRISPR/Cas9 limitations.
• Applications in crop improvement focus on enhancing yield and quality traits.
• Further research into limitations and future directions will optimize base editing for agricultural advancements.