Enhancing Crop Resilience through CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Development of Disease-Resistant Cultivars

Abstract

A major issue in agriculture is the protection of crops against diseases and pests. Plant breeding has been primarily responsible for the growth of disease-resistant cultivars. The use of gene editing techniques in plant breeding is essential for obtaining desired features. Clustered Regular Interspaced Palindromic Repeats (CRISPER)/Cas9 (CRISPR-related protein) is a new advancement in gene editing technology. It can be utilised in plant defence mechanisms against pathogen attack by recognising the bacterial immune system and destroying invasive pathogen genes. Advances in plant breeding through CRISPR/Cas9 integration have helped develop cultivars including hereditary resistance to bacterial and viral diseases. Future crop generations can acquire CRISPR/Cas9-mediated transgene resistance if the Cas9/sgRNA transgene has been isolated in the F1 generation. Cas9/sgRNA transgene separation makes CRISPR/Cas9 safe for use in plant breeding. Although CRISPR/Cas9 has proven to be a wonderful tool to revolutionize plant breeding and develop various disease resistant varieties, its effect on many plant physiological processes remains to be thoroughly investigated.