Advances in the generation of insertion-based genome edits in plants

Abstract

Tremendous progress has been achieved in the field of gene editing in plants, such as with the use of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). Because of the potential advantages associated with mutant creation and crop germplasm innovation, genome editing technology has been rapidly developed and widely used in crop improvement in recent years. In this review, we aim to document some of the important recent developments and applications of genome-editing tools, especially with respect to gene knock-ins. We introduce the mechanism underlying knock-ins and different outcomes of insertion. We also discuss genome editing tools and methods developed to improve insertion efficiencies. Additionally, we review the recent trends in genetic editing biotechnologies; several strategies are being developed to further improve the efficiency of plant gene knock-ins. Undoubtedly, CRISPR/Cas technology will boost the development of new plant breeding techniques tremendously.