Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas genome editing transforming crop stress tolerance for global food security

Harnessing CRISPR-Cas technology to enhance rice resilience under abiotic and biotic stress.

Overall, CRISPR-Cas-based genome editing represents a promising and efficient approach for accelerating the development of high-yielding, climate-resilient, and stress-tolerant rice cultivars, thereby contributing significantly to sustainable rice production and global food security under changing environmental conditions.

CRISPR-enabled functional genomics for bolstering plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress; a comprehensive review

This review systematically examines how CRISPR-Cas9 enables targeted engineering of stress tolerance in major crops through gene knockout and knock-in strategies, and highlights emerging synergies with functional genomics, multi-omics integration, and high-throughput phenotyping to accelerate target discovery and validation.

Breaking the growth-defense trade-off in cereal crops: CRISPR/Cas and moonlighting proteins in biotic stress resistance

Emerging applications of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in horticultural crop improvement

CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing has emerged as a powerful and precise tool for crop improvement, enabling targeted modification of genes associated with agriculturally important traits. In horticultural crops, CRISPR technologies have accelerated the improvement of disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, yield, nutritional quality, shelf life, flowering behavior, and ornamental characteristics. Among available genome-editing platforms, CRISPR/Cas9 is the most widely utilized because of its simplicity, efficiency, and versatility. The technology enables precise genome modification through targeted DNA cleavage followed by endogenous repair mechanisms, facilitating gene knockout, insertion, or sequence alteration. Recent advances in genome editing have significantly expanded its applications in vegetable, fruit, and ornamental crops. Successful modifications targeting genes associated with stress tolerance, fruit ripening, pigment biosynthesis, flowering regulation, and pathogen resistance demonstrate the enormous potential of CRISPR-mediated breeding for horticultural improvement. However, several challenges, including low transformation efficiency, genotype-dependent regeneration, prolonged juvenile phases, polyploidy, and regulatory concerns, continue to limit its broader application in many horticultural species. This review summarizes recent progress in CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing in horticultural crops, including strategies for guide RNA design, transformation, regeneration, development of transgene-free plants, and regulatory considerations. Furthermore, emerging advances such as precision editing technologies and improved delivery systems are discussed as promising approaches for enhancing editing efficiency and expanding future applications. Overall, CRISPR/Cas technologies hold substantial potential for accelerating the development of climate-resilient, high-quality, and nutritionally improved horticultural crops.

CRISPR-Cas systems for enhancing chilling tolerance in rice: recent advances and future prospects.

The present review discusses the use of CRISPR-Cas genome editing technologies as an accurate and effective approach to increasing chilling tolerance in rice, and establishes a conceptual framework to overcome translational challenges in CRISPR-mediated improvement of complex traits in oilseed crops.

Utilizing CRISPR-Cas13 and Omics Technologies to Enhance Drought Tolerance in Iraqi Wheat Varieties in Abu-Ghraib/ Baghdad

Drought stress poses a major threat to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) productivity and food security in arid regions such as Iraq. This study combines precision CRISPR-Cas13 RNA knockdown with multidimensional multi-omics platforms to enhance drought tolerance in local Iraqi wheat genotypes. During the critical summer cultivation period (Tammuz), experimental trials were conducted at the Abu Ghraib research site under controlled greenhouse conditions. We identified 34 conserved stress-responsive genes, 4,520 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 320 copy-number variations (CNVs), and five major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to osmotic adjustment using BLAST bioinformatic alignment, GATK variant calling, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Using CRISPR-Cas13 post-transcriptional modification to target seven master negative regulators, 85% of downstream drought-responsive transcripts under water-deficit conditions were successfully upregulated by 2.3-28-fold. Evaluations conducted in controlled greenhouses showed a 23% increase in cellular antioxidant enzyme activity, a 19% increase in root water-absorption efficiency, a 28% reduction in leaf water loss, and a 42% higher survival rate. The breeding timescale was shortened by 30-35% by integrating these multi-omics biomarkers into a marker-assisted selection (MAS) framework. Under severe water deficits, agronomic trials showed a 115% increase in total grain yield while saving up to 40% of conventional irrigation-water inputs and increasing water-use efficiency by 35%. Agricultural policymakers and breeders should consider integrating this precision biotechnological approach into regional strategies to support food security under increasing climate-related challenges.