Potential applications of the CRISPR/Cas technology for genetic improvement of yam (Dioscorea spp.)

Yam is an economically important crop grown in the tropical and subtropical world, producing tuberous root as a staple food, and an income source for millions of farmers. Yam production is constrained by disease and pest infestations and a range of abiotic factors. Advanced genetic engineering tools such as CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing have the potential for developing improved varieties of yam with diseases and pests resistance. AbstractYam (Dioscorea spp.) is an economically important crop grown in the tropical and subtropical regions, producing tuberous roots that serve as a staple food, an income source, and an excellent source of various pharmaceutical precursors. Yam production is constrained by disease and pest infestations and a range of abiotic stresses. Genetic improvement can significantly mitigate these challenges, improve productivity, expand the yam markets, and increase economic gains. However, several intrinsic attributes of the crop have curtailed progress in yam breeding. Advanced genetic engineering such as genome editing by sequence-specific nucleases has emerged as complementary approaches to conventional breeding techniques. Mainly, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) system for genome editing has provided robust platforms for gene function analysis and crop improvement in the post-genomic era. Despite its significance, research towards improving the yam species remains under-represented...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research