Recent Advances in CRISPR/Cas9 Technology for Engineering Disease Resistance in Plants

Many plant diseases can reduce crop quality and yield, threatening the world's food supply. To address this challenge, enhancing plant disease resistance through genetic improvement for sustainable agricultural output is essential. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has emerged as a powerful tool in agricultural research and crop enhancement, offering potential solutions to increase crop resilience, yield, and quality. The CRISPR/Cas9 toolset facilitates fundamental research on the relationship between hosts and pathogens, including pathogen virulence gene identification, host plant resistance and susceptibility factor analysis, and host genome editing for resistance development. Researchers can implement changes that bolster the plant's inherent defence systems by targeting specific genes linked to vulnerability. This strategy can help promote sustainable agricultural practices and drastically lessen the need for chemical pesticides. We conducted a comprehensive review of successful applications of genome editing aimed at enhancing host plant resistance to diverse array of biotic stressors, including viruses, fungi, oomycetes, and bacteria. It's crucial to remember that applying CRISPR/Cas technology to agriculture raises moral, legal, and social issues. To guarantee the safety of genetically modified crops, rigorous risk assessment and regulatory control are essential to address the potential for unforeseen effects and off-target modifications. This review also addresses the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas9 approach, the control of CRISPR/Cas9 modified crops, and the recommended paths for further advancements in this technology for agricultural uses.