Agriculture is an important source of human food. However, current agricultural practices need modernizing and strengthening to fulfill the increasing food requirements of the growing worldwide population. Genome editing (GE) technology has been used to produce plants with improved yields and nutritional value as well as with higher resilience to herbicides, insects, and diseases. Several GE tools have been developed recently, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) with nucleases, a customizable and successful method. The main steps of the GE process involve introducing transgenes or CRISPR into plants via specific gene delivery systems. However, GE tools have certain limitations, including time-consuming and complicated protocols, potential tissue damage, DNA incorporation in the host genome, and low transformation efficiency. To overcome these issues, nanotechnology has emerged as a groundbreaking and modern technique. Nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery is superior to conventional biomolecular approaches because it enhances the transformation efficiency for both temporal (transient) and permanent (stable) genetic modifications in various plant species. However, with the discoveries of various advanced technologies, certain challenges in developing a short-term breeding strategy in plants remain. Thus, in this review, nanobased delivery systems and plant genetic engineering challenges are discussed in detail. Moreover, we have suggested an effective method to hasten crop improvement programs by combining current technologies, such as speed breeding and CRISPR/Cas, with nanotechnology. The overall aim of this review is to provide a detailed overview of nanotechnology-based CRISPR techniques for plant transformation and suggest applications for possible crop enhancement.
Keywords: CRISPR; crop enhancement; genome editing; nanoparticles; nanotechnology; speedy crop improvement.
Copyright © 2021 Ahmar, Mahmood, Fiaz, Mora-Poblete, Shafique, Chattha and Jung.