Plant Genome Editing Technologies: An Updated Overview

A genome is a representation of all the genetic material that forms an organism and is stored in its deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Genetic engineering, genome editing, and gene editing are all terms that relate to genetic operations in which genetic material is altered, deleted, or inserted in a living organism. Genome editing is now often employed across plant species to develop and investigate functional mutations and their effects on crop development. The development of novel plants with improved or desired traits has historically relied on challenging and time-consuming breeding techniques. With the advent of genome-editing (GE) technology, a new era of genetic engineering has emerged that makes it possible to quickly, precisely, and effectively engineer plant genomes. Several innovative gene editing methods have been discovered in the past few years, including zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9). Targeted gene modification in living organisms enables study not just into the basic concepts underlying ecosystems but also to address a wide variety of aims in order to increase agricultural output and quality. This review gives detailed information about GE techniques and their applications to improve agriculture quality, yields, and resistance to biotic and abiotic conditions. In addition, this chapter has highlighted a number of potential applications of GE techniques for the prospects.