Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR/Cas) is an acquired immune system found in bacteria and archaea that can specifically silence or degrade a foreign single or double strand nucleic acid to protect it from infection. In recent years, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has rapidly been evolved into a genome editing technology, in which the Cas9 endonuclease can be targeted to specific DNA sequences by guide RNAs (gRNAs) that are easily programmable. Due to simplicity, specificity and high efficiency, CRISPR/Cas9 is gradually replacing other gene editing technologies and has been implemented in basic and applied plant sciences to boost yield, regulate metabolic process, and increase stress resistance in different varieties. |
