Next Generation Crop Improvement for Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security

Abstract

In the present agricultural landscape, the challenges of climate change, food security, nutrition, fodder, biofuels, and sustainable resource utilization loom large over the fields of agriculture and horticulture. The increasing human population underscores the urgent need for advanced breeding strategies and tools to develop high-yielding, nutrition-rich, and climate-resilient crop varieties. Next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized our understanding of crop genetics by facilitating whole-genome and transcriptome sequencing, revealing novel genes and their intricate functions. Genome editing (GE) using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas tools enables breeders to achieve these goals with enhanced precision and efficiency. Importantly, genome-edited crops are embraced as having greater public acceptance than genetically modified transgenic crops. Researchers have developed various CRISPR-based tools with numerous applications, such as gene knock-out, gene knock-in, activation or repression of genes, chromosome engineering, and many more. This chapter discusses the current challenges in crop production and the role of biotechnology, including GE, in crop improvement. We describe various CRISPR-based GE tools and their applications in improving agri/horticulturally important crop traits through the lens of specific case studies.