Genetic Engineering: A Powerful Tool for Crop Improvement

Rising population, changing climatic conditions, and various biotic and abiotic stresses are contributors to lowering crop yields. This, in turn, has augmented the number of people suffering from malnutrition. The applications of genetic engineering including genome editing are important as it can complement modern breeding activities to mitigate the effects of changing environment and boost crop production. The genetically modified (GM) crops thus offer one or more advantageous attributes, such as herbicide resistance, tolerance against pests and pathogens, and nutritional enhancement. The discovery of the natural ability of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to transfer a segment of its DNA (T-DNA) into the host was one of the breakthroughs of the twentieth century. It marked the beginning of achieving successful genetic transformation in a wide range of plants. Further, with the advent of technologies like zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas, it has been possible to overcome the limitations of conventional breeding techniques. The synergism of scientific skills with sophisticated technologies resulted in many successful GM crops that were resistant to insects, pests, and weeds and enriched in micronutrients like vitamins and various minerals. Although not all GM crops have been commercialized, a few like soybean, papaya, maize, cotton, common bean, sweet potato, cowpea, etc. are practising. Recently, genome-edited crops are also approved for commercialization. The technology holds immense promise to achieve UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) to fight hunger, attain food security, enhance nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.