Eduardo Larriba, Olha Yaroshko and José Manuel Pérez-Pérez

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(5), 2606; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25052606

Abstract

The use of gene-editing tools, such as zinc finger nucleases, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas, allows for the modification of physiological, morphological, and other characteristics in a wide range of crops to mitigate the negative effects of stress caused by anthropogenic climate change or biotic stresses. Importantly, these tools have the potential to improve crop resilience and increase yields in response to challenging environmental conditions. This review provides an overview of gene-editing techniques used in plants, focusing on the cultivated tomatoes. Several dozen genes that have been successfully edited with the CRISPR/Cas system were selected for inclusion to illustrate the possibilities of this technology in improving fruit yield and quality, tolerance to pathogens, or responses to drought and soil salinity, among other factors. Examples are also given of how the domestication of wild species can be accelerated using CRISPR/Cas to generate new crops that are better adapted to the new climatic situation or suited to use in indoor agriculture.

See https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/5/2606

Figure 1. Overview of the gene-editing systems analyzed in this review. (a) ZFNs, (b) TALENs, (c) CRISPR/Cas9, and (d) CRISPR/Cas12a. The main text provides a thorough description of all the elements depicted in the different panels. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 12 January 2024).