Enhancing oil quality and yield in Brassica juncea via CRISPR/Cas9 technology

Recombinant DNA technology is used to improve quality and yield of oil in Brassica juncea, but field testing of such plants faces significant regulatory challenges, hindering their commercialization. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology has emerged as a game-changer. By allowing precise modifications to plant’s native genome without introducing foreign DNA, CRISPR/Cas9 tools have gained acceptance in India and many other countries. Progressive regulations permit open-field trials and commercial release of crops developed through CRISPR/Cas9. This Commentary sheds light on key genetic targets that can be modified by CRISPR/Cas9 technology for creating diverse cultivars that can be incorporated in breeding programs to improving oil yield in B. juncea and other oil producing crops. With the availability of advanced sequencing technologies, superior gene homologues may be identified among biodiverse wild races in Nature and in seeds in gene banks. CRISPR can then modify the sequence of existing varieties to match these superior genes (Cortés & Barnaby, Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 2023).