CRISPR/Cas9: A New Revolutionary Science in Agricultural and Horticulture

Abstract

With the advancement in technology, CRISPR/Cas9, a genome editing tool, has immense potential to revolutionize the agricultural sector by incorporating the desired traits in a very specific and efficient manner, thus enhancing the production yield. Genetic engineers employ this novel technology to develop crops resistance to various abiotic stresses such as heavy metals, drought, salinity, temperature, and biotic stress like fungus, virus, and bacteria. Moreover, this genome editing tool helps biotechnologists to develop crops with high nutritional profile to reduce malnutrition throughout the globe. Therefore, it is considered as a revolutionary technology of twenty-first century that helps to mitigate environmental stress and enhance agricultural production to meet the demands of growing population. In this review, we describe the applications of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in the field of agriculture.