Genome Editing

The genome editing prospect has altered molecular biology research and presented diverse options for detecting, imaging, manipulating, and annotating various organisms’ specific genomic or transcriptomic sequences. These systems facilitate programmable site-directed mutation and are most commonly used to determine the precise functioning of a gene and the deletion of toxic genes. The key players in these systems are programmable engineered endonucleases. These endonucleases induce targeted breaks at one or both strands of DNA, filled by endogenous DNA repair mechanisms. These repairs are either of the two types: nonhomologous end joining or homology-directed repair. Several genome editing systems have been utilized for targeted mutagenesis, of which the most prominent are the ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR–Cas systems. All these systems have pros and cons, but recent advancements in the CRISPR–Cas system make it a good choice for genome editing. This chapter discusses the genome editing systems with their limitations and their application in plant sciences.