Transgene-free gene-editing has transformed the genomic landscape of crops by enabling targeted, precise, and predictable genetic outcomes without integrating any foreign DNA into the host genome. It has significantly reduced production time and costs, and the regulatory burden for transgene-free gene-edited crops, while improving social acceptance compared with classical transgenic crops. This review compares the transgene-free gene-edited, transgenic, and cisgenic crops. We also focus on core methods for developing transgene-free gene-edited crops, particularly ribonucleoprotein (RNP), transient expression, the transgene killer method, and HI-edit technology. We highlight the practical examples summarizing CRISPR applications for transgene-free gene-edited crops, including cereals, legumes, and oilseeds, and horticultural crops. We also analyze the rapidly evolving global regulatory landscape of transgene-free gene-edited crops, including the recent European Union movement towards differentiated oversight for certain “new genomic techniques (NGTs)” that do not introduce foreign DNA, while maintaining the strict risk assessment for complex modifications. We also summarize the social, ethical, and public perception aspects of transgene-free gene-edited crops compared with traditional GMOs. Finally, we highlight the emerging role of AI in developing precise transgene-free gene-edited crops and the contributions these crops make to global food security. Collectively, this evidence supports the growing role of transgene-free gene-edited crops in scientific developments and real-world agricultural deployment, with remaining bottlenecks in delivery for recalcitrant crops, scalable and universal regulation, detection and traceability of the Cas footprints, and equitable access.
The future of crop improvement using GEd technologies lies in the harmonisation or alignment of global policies and regulations to support the trade of agricultural produce and ensure that growers and consumers can benefit from GEd technology.
Michael G. K. Jones· Sugar Industry international· 0 citations
This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of a recent advances in CRISPR–Cas technologies and their strategic applications in crop genetics and hybrid breeding, and showcases how these technologies accelerate hybrid breeding by engineering male sterility systems, fixing heterosis, and generating high-throughput mutant libraries for trait discovery.
Syed Riaz Ahmed, Jahangir Khan, I. Ijaz et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
Delivery, rather than nuclease chemistry, now sets the practical limit on plant genome editing. Conventional delivery depends on tissue culture and stable transformation, which remain slow, genotype-dependent and unavailable for most cultivated germplasm. Plant viruses offer an alternative because they replicate to high copy number, move systemically and can carry heterologous sequences into cells that no transformation protocol reaches. Virus-induced genome editing exploits this behaviour, and the field has moved within a decade from transient somatic mutagenesis in a model tobacco to heritable, transgene-free mutations in hexaploid bread wheat. This critical review evaluates the strength and the limits of that evidence. Vector chassis are compared on the properties that actually determine outcome, namely cargo capacity, insert stability, host range, movement behaviour and access to reproductive tissue, rather than on reported somatic editing percentages, which are shown to be poor predictors of germline transmission. The central unresolved problem is identified as the disjunction between efficient editing in infected somatic tissue and rare, stochastic entry of editing reagents into cells that give rise to gametes. Three engineering responses to that problem, namely fusion of guide RNAs to mobile RNA motifs, control of nuclease expression through meristem-competent promoters, and exploitation of axillary or adventitious growth points, are assessed against the evidence for each. Reagent miniaturisation, guide array design and virus-delivered precision editing are examined as partial solutions to the cargo constraint. Recurrent weaknesses in the literature are documented, including reliance on visible reporter loci, small progeny samples, inconsistent definitions of editing efficiency, near-absence of independent replication and the complete absence of field evaluation. The claim that virus-derived products are transgene-free is examined against the regulatory frameworks that will govern them, and the biosafety implications of releasing engineered, potentially insect-transmissible vectors are considered. Prioritised research directions are proposed, emphasising standardised reporting of progeny-level outcomes, biocontained vector design, and genotype-spanning validation in elite crop backgrounds.
N. R. Mohite, Basavaraj Bagewadi, S. K. Prashanthi· Biotechnology Journal Intern...· 0 citations
This review critically synthesizes recent advances in CRISPR applications for major wheat fungal diseases, including powdery mildew, rusts, Fusarium head blight, and wheat blast, and highlights future opportunities for integrating genome editing with modern breeding to accelerate the development of climate-resilient, disease-resistant wheat cultivars for sustainable agriculture.
M. S. Samoo· Bulletin of the National Res...· 1 citation
This review summarizes examples of reduced tuber browning, modified starch characteristics, and editing of susceptibility loci for late blight and viral resistance, as well as technical challenges specific to potato, such as allele identification in tetraploids, editing efficiency, and bystander edits.
Hoda A. Ahmed, Alaa Youssef, E. H. Radwan et al.· Plant Cell Tissue and Organ...· 0 citations
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