Genome Editing for Precision Crop Breeding

Genome editing is rapidly transforming plant research. The technique offers unparalleled precision in breeding without the need to introduce foreign DNA into plants. CRISPR/Cas systems have established themselves as the leading technique in genome editing.

Genome editing for precision crop breeding takes stock of the wealth of research on these techniques and their potential in crop breeding. Chapters in this volume review advances in techniques such as TALENS and zinc finger nucleases, double-strand break repair techniques, insertion-based genome edits, base editing, guide RNAs and gRNA/Cas9 constructs. This collection also surveys applications of gene editing in improving key traits in key cereal crops including barley, maize and sorghum as well as brassicas, tomatoes and perennials.

With its distinguished editor and international team of expert authors, Genome editing for precision crop breeding will be a standard reference for university and other researchers involved in crop breeding, government and other agencies involved in regulating advances in crop breeding (such as genetic modification), crop breeding companies and farmers interested in the latest breeding techniques.

Dr Matthew R. Willmann was Director of the CALS Plant Transformation Facility (PTF) at Cornell University, USA from 2016-2021. The Facility produces transgenic and CRISPR/Cas9 genome-edited plants, and develops improved transformation and genome editing techniques. With over 25 years of experience in plant science research, Dr Willmann has published widely in such areas as gene editing and is on the editorial boards of The CRISPR Journal and Frontiers in Genome Editing: Genome Editing in Plants, which promote research in this important and growing area. Dr Willmann joined the plant biotech company Pairwise as Delivery Technology Lead in early 2021.

Dr Götz Hensel is a molecular biologist by training. He is the Head of the Centre for Plant Genome Engineering (CPGE) at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. His research focuses on developing and applying methods for genetic transformation and gene editing of crop plants, including cereals, sunflowers, and rice, for fundamental research and crop improvement. His interests include crop domestication, chloroplast development and photosynthesis, as well as plant-microbe interactions and molecular farming.