Genome-editing techniques are promising tools in plant breeding. To facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the use of genome editing, EU-SAGE developed an interactive, publicly accessible online database of genome-edited crop plants as described in peer-reviewed scientific publications.
The aim of the database is to inform interested stakeholder communities in a transparent manner about the latest evidence about the use of genome editing in crop plants. Different elements including the plant species, traits, techniques, and applications can be filtered in this database.
Regarding the methodology, a literature search in the bibliographic databases and web pages of governmental agencies was conducted using predefined queries in English. Identifying research articles in other languages was not possible due to language barriers. Patents were not screened.
Peer-reviewed articles were screened for relevance and were included in the database based on pre-defined criteria. The main criterium is that the research article should describe a research study of any crop plant in which a trait has been introduced that is relevant from an agricultural and/or food/feed perspective. The database does neither give information on the stage of development of the crop plant, nor on the existence of the intention to develop the described crop plants to be marketed.
This database will be regularly updated. Please contact us via the following webpage in case you would like to inform us about a new scientific study of crops developed for market-oriented agricultural production as a result of genome editing

Displaying 20 results

Traits related to improved food/feed quality

Reduced accumulation of free asparagine, the precursor for acrylamide. Acrylamide is a contaminant which forms during the baking, toasting and high-temperature processing of foods made from wheat.
( Raffan et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Rothamsted Research
University of Bristol, UK
Mutant cell lines doubled the accumulation level of anthocyanins biosynthesized. The production of these important pigments was stabilized over time.
( D'Amelia et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Research Council of Italy
University of Naples Federico II
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy
Changing grain composition: decrease in the prolamines, an increase in the glutenins, increased starch content, amylose content, and β-glucan content. The protein matrix surrounding the starch granules was increased.
(Yang et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Sichuan Agricultural University, China
Norwich Research Park, UK
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
Reduced cesium content. The production of radiocesium in food in contaminated soils is a serious health concern.
( Nieves-Cordones et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Université Montpellier, France
Reduce allergen proteins. Structural and metabolic proteins, like α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors are involved in the onset of wheat allergies (bakers' asthma) and probably Non-Coeliac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS).
( Camerlengo et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Tuscia, Italy
Rothamsted Research, UK
Impasse Thérèse Bertrand-Fontaine, France
Altered starch properties. Changes in amylopectin chain-lengths, starch granule initiation and branching frequency.
( Tuncel et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
Increased levels of oleic acid, decreased levels of fatty acids.
( Morineau et al., 2016 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Université Paris-Saclay, France
Increased grain number per spikelet.
( Zhang et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Missouri
South Dakota State University
University of California
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
University of Bristol, UK
Specific differences in grain morphology, composition and (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content. Barley rich in (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan, a source of fermentable dietary fibre, is useful to protect against various human health conditions. However, low grain (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content is preferred for brewing and distilling.
( Garcia-Gimenez et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
The James Hutton Institute
University of Dundee, UK
University of Adelaide
La Trobe University, Australia
Increased iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mn) content for biofortification: increasing the intrinsic nutritional value of crops.
(Connorton et al., 2017)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
John Innes Centre
University of East Anglia, UK
Production of opaque seeds with depleted starch reserves. Reduced starch content and increased amylose content. Accumulation of multiple sugars, fatty acids, amino acids and phytosterols.
( Baysal et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center
Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain
Royal Holloway University of London, UK
Altered gliadin levels resulting in improved end-use quality and reduced gluten epitopes associated with celiac disease. Gliadins are important for wheat end-use traits.
( Liu et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University, China
Research Centre for Cereal and Industrial Crops, Italy
Enhancing the accumulation of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, essential components of a healthy, balanced diet.
( Han et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Rothamsted Research, UK
Montana State University, USA

Traits related to industrial utilization

Accelerated domestication of African rice landraces by improving domestication traits such as sheed shattering, lodging and seed yield. The acceleration of the development of high-yield African landrace varieties is important considering that Africa has a strong growing population and prone to food shortage.
( Lacchini et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Milan, Italy
University of Montpellier, France
Asexual propagation trough seeds. Induction of apomeiosis, mitosis instead of meiosis. This proces leads to the production of genetically identical seeds, serving many applications in plant breeding.
( Khanday et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California
Innovative Genomics Institute
Iowa State University, USA
Université Paris-Saclay, France
Hairy root transformation. Hairy roots play a role in multiple processes, ranging from recombinant protein production and metabolic engineering to analyses of rhizosphere physiology and biochemistry.
( Ron et al., 2014 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California
Emory University, USA
University of Cambridge, UK
Removal of methyl iodide emissions. The release of methyl iodide in the athmospere causes ozone depletion and thus represents an important environmental threat.
( Carlessi et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
PlantLab
Institute of Life Sciences
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
University of Pisa
University of Milan, Italy
Jointless tomatoes. Pedicel abscission is an important agronomic factor that controls yield and post-harvest fruit quality. In tomato, floral stems that remain attached to harvested fruits during picking mechanically damage the fruits during transportation, decreasing the fruit quality for fresh-market tomatoes and the pulp quality for processing tomatoes.
( Roldan et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay (IPS2), France
University of Liège, Belgium
New red-grained and pre-harvest sprouting (PHS)-resistant wheat varieties with elite agronomic traits. PHS reduces yield and grain quality, additionally the red pigment of the grain coat contains proanthocyanidins, which have antioxidant activity and thus health-promoting properties.
( Zhu et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Henan University
Shenzhen Research Institute of Henan university
Taiyuan University of Technology
Southern University of Science and Technology, China
University of Edinburgh, UK
Enabled clonal reproduction trough seeds. Application of the method may enable self-propagation of a broad range of elite F1 hybrid crops.
( Wang et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Université Paris-Saclay, France