Our past, present, and future are governed by the grand design of the genetic blueprint, which was mapped more than twodecades back. While the eloquent design of our genome results from millions of years of evolution and has reached a near-perfect stage, unwanted flaws and mistakes in individual genomes can make their life miserable and worth intervention. The advent of technologies to manipulate the grand design and make it congenial for the individual has given new hope. Here, we discuss how gene editing technologies have progressed and how some of the technologies have become indispensable gears in precision medicine.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgeed.2023.1265103.].

Targeted insertion (TIN) of transgenic trait cassettes has the potential to reduce timeline and cost for GM product development and commercialization. Precise genome engineering has made remarkable progress over the last several decades, particularly with the use of site-directed nucleases as core editing machinery. However, there are still many critical factors that can impact TIN efficiency including insertion site selection, nuclease optimization and expression, donor vector design, gene delivery, and stable event regeneration. Here, we develop workflows for target site sequence identification and gRNA screening for CRISPR-Cas12a system and demonstrate its successful application for TIN in maize with donor sequences up to 10 kilobase pairs (kb) in size. We first prioritize genomic regions for inserting transgenes in silico using bioinformatics tools and then test gRNA performance using a leaf protoplast transient assay. Despite its known low efficiency, we identify homology-directed repair (HDR) as the preferential pathway for directing targeted insertions of large sequences in immature embryos and demonstrate double-junction integrations at a rate of up to 4%. We further apply a molecular analysis workflow using large amplicon TaqMan assays and nanopore sequencing for streamlined identification and characterization of high-quality insertion events with intact large inserts. Analysis of TIN events across generations suggests that efficiency bottlenecks are not limited to donor targeted integration; attrition in efficiency also results from partial or additional donor insertion, chimerism, and close linkage with undesired sequence insertions such as those encoding the editing machinery. This work represents a major step forward in realizing the potential of precise genome engineering in maize for basic research and biotech trait development applications.

Potato is an important vegetatively propagated, starch-rich tuber crop. High amylose potatoes containing more resistant starch offer healthier food alternatives. However, the resistant starch content is low in most cultivated potato varieties. In this study, targeted mutation of the starch branching enzyme2 (SBE2.1 & SBE2.2 isoforms) had been done in the commercially significant potato cultivar, Kufri Chipsona-I using Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9 system) to develop high-amylose potato lines. SBE2 is one of the key enzymes involved in amylopectin biosynthesis, a starch component. Two isoforms, SBE2.1 & SBE2.2, were mutated using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing. After Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation, fifty transformed lines were generated on herbicide Basta selection medium, out of which 70% were found positive for bar and Cas9 genes. Overall, six mutant lines, viz. K301, K302, K303, K304, K305, K306, derived from distinct events, exhibited deletions and substitutions in the target exons. The CRISPR-Cas9 edited K304 potato line exhibited both insertion–deletion (indel) and substitution mutations in three out of the four selected targets across both genes, and was therefore identified as the most efficiently edited line. The harvested tubers from SBE2.1 & SBE2.2 mutant K304 line showed the highest amylose (95.91%) and resistant starch content (8.69 g/100 g). Evaluation of starch using X-ray crystallography (XRD) illustrated an altered crystallinity index (CI%) in all six mutant events in comparison to the wild study. Furthermore, 1H-NMR study demonstrated a substantial decline in branch chain elongation in amylopectin, and thus a low degree of branching in a range of 1.15%–3.66% was reported in mutant lines, relative to the wild type (5.46%). The present study demonstrated the efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of starch biosynthetic genes to develop high-amylose potato lines with elevated resistant starch content for improved health benefits.

CRISPR-based technologies have revolutionized plant science by enabling precise modulation of gene function, including CRISPR activation (CRISPRa), a recently emerging strategy which shows particular promise for enhancing disease resistance through targeted gene upregulation. Unlike conventional CRISPR editing, which introduces double-stranded DNA breaks and permanent genomic changes, CRISPRa employs a deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) fused to transcriptional activators. This system allows quantitative and reversible gene activation without altering the DNA sequence, offering a gain-of-function (GOF) like enhanced blight resistance in staple crops. Despite its potential, the limited adoption of CRISPRa in plant biology to date underscores the need for future studies to fully harness its capabilities for crop improvement. This review addresses the groundbreaking and relatively underexplored potential of CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) systems for GOF studies in plant biology, and advocates for the adoption of CRISPRa to discover and harness genetic variation for enhancing disease resistance. We present recent advancements in CRISPRa technology, emphasizing its successful application in boosting plant immunity. Moreover, we discuss the synergistic potential of integrating CRISPRa with functional genomics tools such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and multi-omics approaches to identify and characterize key resistance genes. Additionally, we highlight ongoing progress in developing plant-specific programmable transcriptional activators (PTAs) to optimize CRISPRa efficiency. Challenges associated with achieving transgene-free overexpression and the deployment of alternative CRISPR systems are also explored. Together, these advances position CRISPRa as a transformative tool for future crop breeding strategies aimed at achieving durable, broad-spectrum disease resistance and sustainability in agriculture.

The main aim of present study was to analyze the consumers’ preferences about genome/gene-edited food products in Iran. For this purpose, an extended version of the theory of planned behavior was used as a social intervention tool. The theory of planned behavior was firstly extended using the introduction and new variable of trust in gene-edited products and perceived benefits of gene-edited food products, but in the next step, it was also analyzed statistically. To achieve the main objective of the research, a representative sample was selected from the population of purchasers of gene-edited products, and data were collected using a cross-sectional survey. The validity and reliability of the data collection tool was evaluated and confirmed using different quantitative and qualitative methods in the pilot stages and after the main survey. The results of structural equation modeling showed that the attitude towards gene-edited food products, perceived behavioral control, and the subjective norms of gene-edited products had positive and significant effects on the intention to purchase these products. The results of the study indicated that two newly introduced variables to the theory of planned behavior, namely, trust in gene-edited products and the perceived benefits of gene-edited products also had positive and significant effects on the intention to purchase these products. Based on the results, the framework employed and extended in this study can provide the basis for effective interventions to improve consumers’ preference for gene-edited food products. Also, some practical suggestions were provided for policymakers, managers, and producers of these products.

IntroductionAccurately predicting the on-target activity of sgRNAs remains a challenge in CRISPR-Cas9 applications, due to the limited generalization of existing models across datasets, small-sample settings, and complex sequence contexts. Current methods often rely on shallow architectures or unimodal encodings, limiting their ability to capture the intricate dependencies underlying Cas9-mediated cleavage.MethodsWe present CRISPR-FMC, a dual-branch hybrid neural network that integrates One-hot encoding with contextual embeddings from a pre-trained RNA-FM model. Multi-scale convolution (MSC), BiGRU, and Transformer blocks are employed to extract hierarchical sequence features, while a bidirectional cross-attention mechanism with a residual feedforward network enhances multimodal fusion and generalization.ResultsAcross nine public CRISPR-Cas9 datasets, CRISPR-FMC consistently outperforms existing baselines in both Spearman and Pearson correlation metrics, showing particularly strong performance under low-resource and cross-dataset conditions. Ablation experiments confirm the contribution of each module, and base substitution analysis reveals a pronounced sensitivity to the PAM-proximal region.DiscussionThe PAM-proximal sensitivity aligns with established biological evidence, indicating the model’s capacity to capture biologically relevant sequence determinants. These results demonstrate that CRISPR-FMC offers a robust and interpretable framework for sgRNA activity prediction across heterogeneous genomic contexts.

Sjögren’s disease (SD) is a systemic autoimmune disease that particularly affects the salivary and lacrimal glands, causing sicca symptoms. Genetic polymorphism in the TNFAIP3 gene has been implicated in the pathogenesis of SD. In this study, we aimed to functionally determine the impact of two specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TNFAIP3, rs6920220 (G/A) and rs2230926 (T/C/G), on the pathogenesis of SD. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we edited human salivary gland epithelial cells (SGECs) to incorporate TNFAIP3 SNPs rs6920220 (G/A) and rs2230926 (T/C/G) and co-cultured them with Jurkat cells. We performed assays to examine gene expression, inflammatory cytokine levels, and related signaling pathways to investigate the effects of these genetic variants on TNFAIP3 function and cellular response. Our results demonstrated that these SNPs reduced TNFAIP3 expression, increased NF-κB activation, and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine production. These findings provide strong evidence for the functional significance of these genetic variants in the pathogenesis of SD and underscore the utility of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in elucidating genetic contributions to autoimmune disorders.

Protoplast-based systems have been utilised in a wide variety of plant species to enable genome editing without chromosomal introgression of foreign DNA into plant genomes. DNA-free genome editing followed by protoplast regeneration allows elite cultivars to be edited without further genetic segregation, preserving their unique genetic composition and their regulatory status as non-transgenic. However, protoplast isolation presents a barrier to the development of advanced breeding technologies in raspberry and no protocol has been published for DNA-free genome editing in the species. Pre-assembled ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) do not require cellular processing and the commercial availability of Cas9 proteins and synthetic guide RNAs has streamlined genome editing protocols. This study presents a novel high-yielding protoplast isolation protocol from raspberry stem cultures and RNP-mediated transfection of protoplast with CRISPR-Cas9. Targeted mutagenesis of the phytoene desaturase gene at two intragenic loci resulted in an editing efficiency of 19%, though estimated efficiency varied depending on the indel analysis technique. Only amplicon sequencing was sensitive enough to confirm genome editing in a low efficiency sample. To our knowledge, this study constitutes the first use of DNA-free genome editing in raspberry protoplast. This protocol provides a valuable platform for understanding gene function and facilitates the future development of precision breeding in this important soft fruit crop.

Large genetic engineering constructs often face limitations in DNA element addition or replacement due to lack of unique endonuclease recognition sites. Traditional restriction resistance methods can identify CRISPR-induced mutants efficiently, but CRISPR target sites rarely contain suitable restriction motifs. Here, we demonstrate the use of SpCas9 combined with custom synthesised sgRNAs to linearize large plasmid constructs, enabling DNA element incorporation via seamless cloning methods. Additionally, SpCas9 and custom sgRNAs were used to digest target gene amplicons for effective genotyping of CRISPR-edited mutants, allowing us to distinguish between wild-type, heterozygous, and biallelic variants. This approach provides a straightforward, highly flexible method for modifying large plasmid constructs and screening CRISPR-induced edits.