Efficient and transformation-free genome editing in pepper enabled by RNA virus-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9.

Tomato spotted wilt virus-mediated delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 bypasses the need for stable transformation and permits efficient, DNA-free genome editing in pepper. Remarkably, up to 77.9% of regenerated pepper plants contained heritable edits. This method has been validated with two pepper varieties and is compatible with existing tissue culture protocols.