Genome editing for targeted improvement of plants

Recent advances in gene/genome editing technologies, such as engineered meganucleases (EMNs), zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9) allowed researchers to precisely modify or mutate genes. These genome editing tools make double-strand breaks (DSB) in DNA and then repair it by employing error-prone non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology directed repair (HDR) mechanism which leads to mutation in specific location in genome. Since these editing techniques are simple to use, highly efficient and specific as compared to earlier mutation methods, their use in plant biology research is increasing rapidly to enhance biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, increased nutritional value and new trait development. Here, we review the applications of EMNs, ZFNs, TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 in various plants (cereals, vegetable, oil crops and fruits), comparison of genome editing methods and their biosafety regulations.