title: The CRISPR-Cas system for plant genome editing: advances and opportunities.
abstract: Genome editing is an approach in which a specific target DNA sequence of the genome is altered by adding, removing, or replacing DNA bases. Artificially engineered hybrid enzymes, zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated protein) system are being used for genome editing in various organisms including plants. The CRISPR-Cas system has been developed most recently and seems to be more efficient and less time-consuming compared with ZFNs or TALENs. This system employs an RNA-guided nuclease, Cas9, to induce double-strand breaks. The Cas9-mediated breaks are repaired by cellular DNA repair mechanisms and mediate gene/genome modifications. Here, we provide a detailed overview of the CRISPR-Cas system and its adoption in different organisms, especially plants, for various applications. Important considerations and future opportunities for deployment of the CRISPR-Cas system in plants for numerous applications are also discussed. Recent investigations have revealed the implications of the CRISPR-Cas system as a promising tool for targeted genetic modifications in plants. This technology is likely to be more commonly adopted in plant functional genomics studies and crop improvement in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Functional and Applied Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi-110067, India.
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Functional and Applied Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi-110067, India mjain@nipgr.ac.in.
authors.forename: Mukesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D018745:Genome, Plant; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
keywords: CRISPR; Cas9; genome editing; mutation; protospacer adjacent motif; sgRNA.