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Application of CRISPR/Cas system in cereal improvement for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Application of the recently developed CRISPR/Cas tools might help enhance cereals’ growth and yield under biotic and abiotic stresses.

Abstract

Cereals are the most important food crops for human life and an essential source of nutrients for people in developed and developing countries. The growth and yield of all major cereals are affected by both biotic and abiotic stresses. To date, molecular breeding and functional genomic studies have contributed to the understanding and improving cereals’ growth and yield under biotic and abiotic stresses. Clustered, regularly inter-spaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system has been predicted to play a major role in precision plant breeding and developing non-transgenic cereals that can tolerate adverse effects of climate change. Variants of next-generation CRISPR/Cas tools, such as prime editor, base editor, CRISPR activator and repressor, chromatin imager, Cas12a, and Cas12b, are currently used in various fields, including plant science. However, few studies have been reported on applying the CRISPR/Cas system to understand the mechanism of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in cereals. Rice is the only plant used frequently for such studies. Genes responsible for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance have not yet been studied by CRISPR/Cas system in other major cereals (sorghum, barley, maize and small millets). Examining the role of genes that respond to biotic and abiotic stresses using the CRISPR/Cas system may help enhance cereals’ growth and yield under biotic and abiotic stresses. It will help to develop new and improved cultivars with biotic- and abiotic-tolerant traits for better yields to strengthen food security. This review provides information for cereal researchers on the current status of the CRISPR/Cas system for improving biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in cereals.

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Fig. 1

Data availability

Data sharing does not apply to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Abbreviations

CRISPR/Cas:

Clustered, regularly inter-spaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein

CRISPRa:

CRISPR activation

CRISPRi:

CRISPR interference

dCas9:

Dead Cas9

TALENs:

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases

ZFNs:

Zinc-finger nucleases

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Acknowledgements

We thank Rajagiri College of Social Sciences for all the support and help for the research.

Funding

This work was financially supported by Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), Under Seed Money for Faculty Minor Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Biosciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Cochin, Kerala, 683104, India

    Theivanayagam Maharajan, T. P. Ajeesh Krishna & Stanislaus Antony Ceasar

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, 630003, India

    Kasinathan Rakkammal & Manikandan Ramesh

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  1. Theivanayagam Maharajan
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  2. T. P. Ajeesh Krishna
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  3. Kasinathan Rakkammal
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  4. Stanislaus Antony Ceasar
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Correspondence to Stanislaus Antony Ceasar.

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Maharajan, T., Krishna, T.P.A., Rakkammal, K. et al. Application of CRISPR/Cas system in cereal improvement for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. Planta 256, 106 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-022-04023-w

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