Perfecting prime editing: achieving precise edits in dicots.

Prime editing (PE), a precise CRISPR-based method, has worked well in some plants but faces challenges in dicots. Vu and colleagues developed new PE tools that greatly improve PE efficiency in dicots, enabling accurate, heritable genome edits. This advance marks a breakthrough that could revolutionize crop improvement and plant biotechnology.

Revolutionizing soybean genomics: How CRISPR and advanced sequencing are unlocking new potential.

Soybean Glycine max L., paleopolyploid genome, poses challenges to its genetic improvement. However, the development of reference genome assemblies and genome sequencing has completely changed the field of soybean genomics, allowing for more accurate and successful breeding techniques as well as research.

Deciphering the differential expression patterns of yield-related negative regulators in hexaploid wheat cultivars and hybrids at different growth stages.

Background: Hexaploid bread wheat underwent a series of polyploidization events through interspecific hybridizations that conferred adaptive plasticity and resulted in duplication and neofunctionalization of major agronomic genes. The genetic architecture of polyploid wheat not only confers adaptive plasticity but also offers huge genetic diversity. However, the contribution of different gene copies (homeologs) encoded from different subgenomes (A, B, D) at different growth stages remained unexplored.

Methyl-salicylate (MeSA)-mediated airborne defence.

Stressed plants emit a variety of chemicals into the environment, leading to increased pest resistance in neighbouring plants but the genetic and molecular mechanisms of the emissions remain obscure. Recently, Gong et al. identified novel methyl salicylate (MeSA)-mediated airborne defence that confers resistance to neighbouring plants against aphids and viruses.

Gene drive in plants emerges from infancy.

Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) display biased transmission to offspring. However, their breeding potential has remained obscure. Wang et al.

Fanzor: a compact programmable RNA-guided endonuclease from eukaryotes.

The IS200/605 transposons in prokaryotes are known to harbor programmable endonucleases. Despite carrying their own transposable elements, no such effector has been characterized in eukaryotes. Saito et al.

Viral vectors as carriers of genome-editing reagents.

The presence of a transgene in the genome of plants is a regulatory challenge. Recently, Liu et al. reported an engineered tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) that can carry large clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas reagents for targeted genome editing in various crops without the integration of the transgene into the genome.

A graft that crafts nontransgenic and genome-edited plants.

Grafting in plants facilitates the transmission of biomolecules across the union formation. Recently, Yang et al. demonstrated that inter- and intraspecific grafting in plants can be exploited for trafficking tRNA-tagged mobile reagents of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas system from the transgenic rootstock to wild-type scion for genetic improvement in plants through targeted mutagenesis.

PASTE: a high-throughput method for large DNA insertions.

Prime editing (PE) enables precise genome editing at targeted locus without inducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs). Despite its precision, PE lacks the tendency to integrate large DNA fragments into the genome. Recently, Yarnall et al.

Genome-Wide Analysis of WRKY Gene Family and Negative Regulation of and Reveal Their Role in Whitefly and Drought Stress Tolerance in Cotton.

The WRKY transcription factor family is marked by its significant responsiveness to both biotic and abiotic plant stresses. In the present study, the WRKY family of has been identified and classified into three groups based on the number of conserved WRKY domains and the type of zinc finger motif. This classification is further validated by conserved domain and phylogenetic analysis.

Improving editing efficiency of prime editor in plants.

Prime editing creates targeted insertions or deletions in the genome without double-stranded breaks (DSBs). However, prime-editing efficiency in plants is low, thereby limiting its utilization. A recent study by Zong et al.

BioClay: next-generation crop protection strategy.

Whitefly and the viruses they transmit pose a serious threat to crops globally. Recently, Jain et al. showed that BioClay-mediated double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) spray provides an eco-friendly approach to controlling whitefly.

CRISPR-Cas12c: a noncleaving DNA binder with minimal PAM requirement.

The CRISPR-Cas toolbox is expanding swiftly. Every discovery of a novel and unique variant opens new frontiers in the field of synthetic and applied biology. Recently, Huang et al.

Genome edited wheat- current advances for the second green revolution.

Common wheat is a major source of nutrition around the globe, but unlike maize and rice hybrids, no breakthrough has been made to enhance wheat yield since Green Revolution. With the availability of reference genome sequence of wheat and advancement of allied genomics technologies, understanding of genes involved in grain yield components and disease resistance/susceptibility has opened new avenues for crop improvement. Wheat has a huge hexaploidy genome of approximately 17 GB with 85% repetition, and it is a daunting task to induce any mutation across three homeologues that can be helpful for the enhancement of agronomic traits.

Twin prime editor: seamless repair without damage.

CRISPR-Cas9 creates remarkable possibilities to modify targeted regions in genomic DNA. However, CRISPR-Cas-mediated DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs), that tend to generate random insertions or deletions, limit this technology. Recently, Anzalone et al.

Aegilops tauschii presents a genetic roadmap for hexaploid wheat improvement.

Modern wheat shows phenomenal evolutional success and adaptability to a range of environments owing to polyploidization; however, during its hybridization process a major genetic gain has been overlooked. Recently, Gaurav et al. emphasized harnessing genetic diversity from wheat wild progenitor Aegilops tauschii for the improvement of hexaploid wheat through introgression or transgenesis.

Mini CRISPR-Cas12f1: a new genome editing tool.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated protein (CRISPR-Cas) toolbox enables targeted mutations to be introduced into a genome. However, the delivery of appropriately sized Cas effectors to develop transgene-free edited plants is a limiting factor. A novel mini CRISPR-Cas12f1 system recently reported by Wu et al.