CRISPR–Cas13d in plant biology: an insight

Plants are among the many creatures that have benefited from the widespread application of the CRISPR-associated Cas system as a genome-editing tool for investigating gene function, identifying disease, and enhancing agricultural yields. Although the CRISPR/Cas systems for DNA editing are widely employed, post-transcriptional manipulation of RNA remains difficult despite the prevalence of Cas9. Type VI CRISPR/Cas systems, which were recently found, allow for precise RNA editing without permanently affecting the genome. Cas13d has been put to good use in RNA-related studies across a wide range of RNA knock-down, and RNA detection without affecting DNA. Regulation of cas13d specificity and activity helps to avoid the off-target effects and immune responses in plants. Cas13d as highly efficient RNA-targeting tools for the virus resistance, gene function studies, disease diagnostics, and crop improvement in plants. However, CRISPR/Cas13d applications in plant RNA biology are just getting started. This article discusses how RNA editing tools derived from the CRISPR/Cas13d system are currently being used and where they may be used in the future for plant research.