Progress and prospects in plant genome editing

The emergence of sequence-specific nucleases that enable genome editing is revolutionizing basic and applied biology. Since the introduction of CRISPR–Cas9, genome editing has become widely used in transformable plants for characterizing gene function and improving traits, mainly by inducing mutations through non-homologous end joining of double-stranded breaks generated by CRISPR–Cas9. However, it would be highly desirable to perform precision gene editing in plants, especially in transformation-recalcitrant species. Recently developed Cas9 variants, novel RNA-guided nucleases and base-editing systems, and DNA-free CRISPR–Cas9 delivery methods now provide great opportunities for plant genome engineering. In this Review Article, we describe the current status of plant genome editing, focusing on newly developed genome editing tools and methods and their potential applications in plants. We also discuss the specific challenges facing plant genome editing, and future prospects.