Perspectives on the Application of Genome-Editing Technologies in Crop Breeding.

Most conventional and modern crop-improvement methods exploit natural or artificially induced genetic variations and require laborious characterization of the progenies of multiple generations derived from time-consuming genetic crosses. Genome-editing systems, in contrast, provide the means to rapidly modify genomes in a precise and predictable way, making it possible to introduce improvements directly into elite varieties. Here, we describe the range of applications available to agricultural researchers using existing genome-editing tools. In addition to providing examples of genome-editing applications in crop breeding, we discuss the technical and social challenges faced by breeders using genome-editing tools for crop improvement.