CRISPR/Cas System: Applications and Prospects for Maize Improvement
Yilin Jiang, Kangtai Sun, Xueli An
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most important cereal crops to secure food supplies in the world. A growing world population requires new approaches to facilitate and accelerate maize breeding. As a powerful tool, the CRISPR/Cas system has revolutionized the fields of functional genomics and crop breeding. Compared to cross breeding and transgenic breeding, genome-editing breeding based on CRISPR/Cas will bring new opportunities in rapidly cultivating novel maize varieties with desired characteristics. Here, we review the applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in maize improvement. We also discuss the potential of new CRISPR/Cas technologies, such as base editors, prime editors, and multiplex genome editing toward future maize breeding. In addition, challenges for genome-editing breeding are discussed.