CRISPR–Cas9-based genetic engineering for crop improvement under drought stress

ABSTRACT

In several parts of the world, the prevalence and severity of drought are predicted to increase, creating considerable pressure on global agricultural yield. Among all abiotic stresses, drought is anticipated to produce the most substantial impact on soil biota and plants, along with complex environmental impacts on other ecological systems. Being sessile, plants tend to be the least resilient to drought-induced osmotic stress, which reduces nutrient accessibility due to soil heterogeneity and limits nutrient access to the root system. Drought tolerance is a complex quantitative trait regulated by multiple genes, and it is one of the most challenging characteristics to study and classify. Fortunately, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) technology has paved the way as a new frontier in crop improvement, thereby revolutionizing plant breeding. The application of CRISPER systems has proven groundbreaking across numerous biological fields, particularly in biomedicine and agriculture. The present review highlights the principle and optimization of CRISPR systems and their implementation for crop improvement, particularly in terms of drought tolerance, yield, and domestication. Furthermore, we address the ways in which innovative genome editing tools can help recognize and modify novel genes coffering drought tolerance. We anticipate the establishment of effective strategies of crop yield improvement in water-limited regions through collaborative efforts in the near future.

KEYWORDS:

• Drought
• CRISPR–Cas9
• plant productivity
• ABA regulation
• ethylene
• genome editing

Research highlights

• Climate change impacts agriculture by affecting water distribution and temperature

• Genetic engineering can increase drought tolerance and reduce crop losses

• CRISPR–Cas9 has attracted attention as a potent tool to induce hereditary mutations

• Editing efficiency and target identification of plant CRISPR–Cas9 need improvement

• CRISPR–Cas9 may be fundamental method to ensure global food security under climate change

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization, Writing—Original Draft Preparation, and Methodology AS, ZX and ZHZ; Formal Analysis, ST and AA; Writing—Review & Editing YPC and YH; Supervision and Project Administration, KJZ.

Authors’ response

All authors have read and approved the manuscript, and ensure that this is the case.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The research was financially supported by the 13th Five-Year Plan for Rapeseed-Cotton IndustrySystem of Anhui Province in China (AHCYJSTX-04) and the National Key Research & Development Program (2018YFD0100600);The research was financially supported by the 13th Five-Year Plan for Rapeseed-Cotton Industry System of Anhui Province in China (AHCYJSTX-04) and the National Key Research & Development Program [2018YFD0100600];