Role of CRISPR/Cas9 in Soybean (Glycine max L.) Quality Improvement

Abstract

Biotechnology has made significant advances in recent years, and the area of genetic engineering is progressing day by day, generating several advantages. Through the new ability to precisely change and modify the genomes of living organisms, genome editing technology has transformed genetic and biological research. Genome editing technology first appeared in the 1990s, and different approaches for targeted gene editing have subsequently been created. The fields of functional genomics and crop improvement have been transformed by advances in genome editing tools. CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas9 is a versatile genetic engineering tool based on the complementarity of the guide RNA (gRNA) to a specific sequence and the endonuclease activity of the Cas9 endonuclease. This RNA-guided genome editing tool has produced variations in plant biology fields. CRISPR technology is continually improving, allowing for more genetic manipulations such as creating knockouts, precise changes, and targeted gene activation and repression. Soybean is a leguminous crop, high in protein and oil contents that are used for poultry and livestock feed industry. In this chapter, we focus on the recent advances in CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing technology and discuss the challenges and opportunities to harnessing this innovative technology for targeted improvement of traits in soybean and other crops.