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 71 results

Traits related to biotic stress tolerance

Fungal resistance: reduced susceptibility to Verticillium longisporum, a pathogen causing Verticillium stem striping. No fungicide treatments are currently available to control this disease.
(Pröbsting et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
Institut für Zuckerrübenforschung
NPZ Innovation GmbH, Germany
Fungal resistance: resistance to Fusarium graminearum. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an economically important disease, affecting both yield and grain quality of maize, wheat and barley.
(Brauer et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Canada
Bacterial resistance: Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae DC3000, a widespread pathogen that causes bacterial speck disease of tomato.
(Ortigosa et al., 2019)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CNB-CSIC),Spain

Fungal resistance: increased resistance to both biotrophic and necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi, Bipolaris spot blotch and Fusarium root rot.
(Galli et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Justus Liebig University, Germany
Viral resistance: enhanced resistance against chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV). The range of symptoms caused by CpCDV varies from mosaic pattern to streaks to leaf curling and can include browning of the collar region and stunting, foliar chlorosis and necrosis.
(Munir Malik et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of the Punjab
University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Washington State University, USA
Viral resistance: reduced cotton leaf curl viral (CLCuV) load with asymptomatic plants. <br /> CLCuV causes a very devastating and prevalent disease. It causes huge losses to textile and other industries.
(Shakoor et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of the Punjab
University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Pacific Biosciences
CureVac Manufacturing GmbH, Germany
Viral resistance: Resistance to Potato Virus Y (PVY), one of the most devastating viral pathogens causing substantial harvest losses.
(Zhan et al., 2019)

CRISPR/Cas
Hubei University
Huazhong Agricultural University, China
Max‐Planck‐Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Germany
Viral resistance: to Cotton Leaf Curl Kokhran Virus, causing Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD), a very devastating and prevalent disease. CLCuD causes huge losses to the textile and other industries.
(Hamza et al., 2021)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Pakistan
Fungal resistance: increased tolerance to Late Blight disease, which could be devastating to tomato yields.
(Maioli et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Ingeniero Fausto Elio/n, Spain
Wageningen University &
Research,
Broad-spectrum resistance against multiple Potato virus Y (PVY)-strains.
( Noureen et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Constituent College of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS)
University Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (UIBB), Pakistan
Fungal resistance: decreased susceptibility to Ustilago maydis, causing smut. The pathogen causes galls on all aerial parts of the plant, impacting crop yield and quality.
(Pathi et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Germany
Bacterial resistance: Strong resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae, causing bacterial blight, a devastating rice disease resulting in yield losses.
(Xu et al., 2021)
SDN1
TALENs
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Crop Diseases Research Institute, Pakistan
Resistance against a protist pathogen: stable resistance against clubroot disease. Clubroot disease is caused by the protist Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin and can result in a 10-15% yield loss in Brassica species as well as related crops.
(Hu et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, Canada
Fungal resistance: improved sheath blight resistance. Sheath blight disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AGI-1A and is one of the three major rice diseases. Sheath blight disease can cause severe yield losses.
(Cao et al., 2021)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Agricultural College of Yangzhou University
Jiangsu Yanjiang Institute of Agricultural Science
Yangzhou University
Testing Center of Yangzhou University
Ministry of Agriculture
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development, China
BASF, Germany
Viral resistance: Increased resistance to the barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV), which can cause yield losses as high as 50% upon infection.
(Hoffie et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK)
Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Germany
Viral resistance: Reduced viral load and symptoms after bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV) infection.
(Baltes et al., 2015)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Minnesota
The Ohio State University, USA
Institute of Biophysics ASCR, Czech Republic
Bacterial resistance: Strong resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae, causing bacterial blight, a devastating rice disease resulting in yield losses.
(Zafar et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Constituent College of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences
University of Information Technology
Engineering and Management Sciences
Constituent College of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Pakistan
Viral resistance: increased resistance to chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV).
(Malik et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of the Punjab
University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Washington State University, USA
Fungal resistance: Reduced susceptibility to Verticillium longisporum, fungal pathogen that causes stem striping in Brassica napus and leads to huge yield losses.
(Ye et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
Institut für Zuckerrübenforschung
Hohenlieth-Hof, NPZ Innovation GmbH, Germany
Aswan University, Egypt
Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China
Fungal resistance: resistance to Oidium neolycopersici, causing powdery mildew.
(Nekrasov et al., 2017)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany
Norwich Research Park, UK
Bacterial resistance: improved resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae, which causes bacterial blight, a devastating rice disease resulting in yield losses.
(Oliva et al., 2019)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
International Rice Research Institute, Philippines
University of Missouri
University of Florida
Iowa State University
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
Université Montpellier, France
Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Nagoya University, Japan
Fungal resistance: Resistance against the blast fungus Mangaporthe oryzae.
(Bundó et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científcas (CSIC), Spain
Academia Sinica No 128, Taiwan
Fungal resistance: Increased tolerance against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, causing vascular wilt.
(Ijaz et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Agriculture, Pakistan
Fungal resistance: enhanced resistance against rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici and powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici., while also increasing yield.
(Liu et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Southwest University
Yangtze University, China
University of Cologne, Germany
University of Maryland

Traits related to abiotic stress tolerance

Increased tolerance to salinity stress. Development of lines with reduced inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) content may enhance phosphate and mineral bioavailability. ICP6 is a major storage form of phosphate in cereal grains.
( Vicko et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Increased drought-avoidance strategy.
( Maioli et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Ingeniero Fausto Elio/n, Spain
Wageningen University &
Research, The Netherlands
Reduced cuticle permeability and enhanced drought tolerance.
( He et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Northwest A&
F University
USA
University of British Columbia, Canada
Increased tolerance to drought trough reducing water loss. Tuber development.
( Gonzales et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Centro Nacional de Biotecnología – CSIC
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain

Traits related to improved food/feed quality

Improved cold storage and processing traits: lower levels of reduced sugars
(Yasmeen et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of the Punjab, Pakistan
Reduction of phytic acid (PA) in seeds. PA has adverse effects on essential mineral absorption and thus is considered as an anti-nutritive for monogastric animals.
( Sashidhar et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Germany
Lowering phytate synthesis in seeds. Phytate is an anti-nutritient.
( Vlčko and Ohnoutková, 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Removing the major allergen to tackle food allergies.
( Assou et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Leibniz Universität Hannover
Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany
Reduced gluten content. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered in genetically predisposed individuals by the ingestion of gluten proteins.
( Sánchez-León,et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IASCSIC), Spain
University of Minnesota, USA
Reduced glucosinolate levels. Glucosinolates are anti-nutrients that can cause reduced performance and impairment of kidney and liver functions of livestock.
( Hölzl et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Bonn
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany
Modified composition: accumulation of fivefold more starch than WT leaves, and more sucrose as well. Architectural changes
(Bezrutczyk et al., 2018)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany
Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Science, USA
Reduce malnutrition by decreasing antinutrient phytic acid (PA) and increasing Iron and Zinc accumulation. PA has adverse effects on essential mineral absorption and thus is considered as an anti-nutritive for monogastric animals.
( Ibrahim et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
National Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan
Altered protein composition due to mutations in seed storage proteins. Two major families of storage proteins, account for about 70% of total soy seed protein. Some major biochemical components influencing the quality of soy food products, for example tofu, are both the quantity and quality of storage proteins in soybean seeds.
( Li et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Western University
Harrow Research and Development Centre, Canada
Sun Yat-sen University
Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Minnan Normal University
China
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
Reduces phytic acid (anti-nutrient) and improves iron and zinc accumulation in wheat grains. Biofortification.
( Ibrahim et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
National Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan
Glossy sheat phenotype.
( Gerasimova et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR)
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia

Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Germany
Improved seed oil content: increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and decreased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
(Wang et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Huazhong Agricultural University, China
National Research Council Canada, Canada

Traits related to increased plant yield and growth

Combine agronomically desirable traits with useful traits present in wild lines. Threefold increase in fruit size and a tenfold increase in fruit number. Fruit lycopene accumulation is improved by 500% compared with the widely cultivated S. lycopersicum.
( Zsögön et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Universidade Federal de Viçosa
Universidade de São Paulo Paulo, Brazil
University of Minnesota, USA
Universität Münster, Germany
Increased seed oil content (SOC). SOC is a major determinant of yield and quality.
( Karunarathna et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany
Zhejiang University, China
Increased tiller number.
( Awan et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
Control meristem size to increase fruit yield.
( Yuste-Lisbona et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Universidad de Almería
Universitat Politècnica de València–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Spain
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics, Germany
Université Paris-Saclay, France
Confer shoot architectural changes for increased resource inputs to increase crop yield.
( Stanic et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Calgary, Canada
SRM Institute of Technology, India
Increased water use efficiency without growth reductions in well-watered conditions.
( Blankenagel et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Technical University of Munich
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology
German Research Center for Environmental Health
KWS SAAT SE &
Co.KGaA
Université Technique de Munich
Heinrich Heine University, Germany
LEPSE - Écophysiologie des Plantes sous Stress environnementaux, France
Altered root architecture with increased tillers and total grain weight.
( Rahim et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Quaid-e-Azam University
National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC)
The University of Haripur, Pakistan
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Nile University
Ain Shams University, Egypt
Chonnam National University, South Korea
Early flowering. Day-light sensitivity limited the geographical range of cultivation.
( Soyk et al., 2016 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany
Université Paris-Scalay, France
Altered spike architecture.
( de Souza Moraes et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Norwich Research Park, UK
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Germany
Root growth angle regulation, among the most important determinants of root system architecture. Root growth angle controls water uptake capacity, stress resilience, nutrient use efficiency and thus yield of crop plants.
( Kirschner et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Bonn
University of Cologne
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gatersleben
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
University of Bologna, Italy

Control grain size and seed coat color.
( Tra et al., 2021 )

BE
International Rice Research Institute, Philippines
Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences Freie Universität, Germany
Synthetic Biology, Biofuel and Genome Editing R&
D Reliance Industries Ltd, India
Increased water use efficiency, a promising approach for achieving sustainable crop production in changing climate scenarios.
( Blankenagel et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Technical University of Munich
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology
Helmholtz Center Munich
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
Induced erect leaf habit and shoot growth for a more efficient light penetration into lower canopy layers.
( Fladung et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Thünen Institute of Forest Genetics, Germany
Increase in 1000-grain weight, grain area, grain width, grain length, plant height, and spikelets per spike.
( Errum et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC)
PARC Institute of Advanced Studies in Agriculture (PIASA)
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Pakistan
Increased shatter resistance to avoid seed loss during mechanical harvest.
( Braatz et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany
Increased yield: plants produced more tillers and grains than azygous wild-type controls and the total yield was increased up to 15 per cent.
(Holubova et al., 2018)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Palacký University
Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Czech Republic
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany

Traits related to industrial utilization

Nicotine-free tobacco.
( Schachtsiek et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
TU Dortmund University, Germany
Early heading: in regions with short growing seasons, early maturing varieties to escape frost damage are required.
(Sohail et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China National Rice Research Institute
Northern Center of China National Rice Research Institute
Zhejiang A&
F University, China
Mir Chakar Khan Rind University
Agriculture Research System Khyber, Pakistan
Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh
Agriculture Research Center, Egypt
Parthenocarpy: seedless tomatoes
(Nieves-Cordones et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura-CSIC, Spain

Traits related to herbicide tolerance

Herbicide tolerance: Bispyribac-sodium (BS). BS is a pyrimidinyl carboxy herbicide.
(Zafar et al., 2023)
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
Constituent College of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Pakistan
Herbicide tolerance: AHAS-inhibiting
(Gocal et al., 2015)

ODM
Cibus, Canada
Cibus, USA

Traits related to product color/flavour

Colour modification. Purple tomatoes.
( Cermak et al., 2015 )
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
University of Minnesota, USA
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic
Colour shift. The poinsettia belongs to most economically important potted ornamental plants. Customers are willing to pay higher prices for unusual varieties.
( Nitarska et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Technische Universität Wien, Austria
Klemm+Sohn GmbH &
Co
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
A significant reduction of saponins. Saponins are a source of bitter, and metallic off-flavors in products containing peas.
( Hodgins et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Universityof Calgary
Universityof Saskatchewan
National Research Council of Canada, Canada
Increased content of phenylacetaldehyde, sucrose and fructose, which are major contributors to flavor in many foods, including tomato.
( Li et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Florida, USA
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Germany
Improved aroma, flavour and fatty acid (FA) profiles of pea seeds.
( Bhowmik et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Research Council Canada (NRC)
University of Calgary
University of Saskatchewan
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
St. Boniface Hospital Research, Canada
John Innes Centre, UK
Colour modification. Purple tomatoes.
( Cermak et al., 2015 )
SDN2
TALENs
University of Minnesota, USA
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic

Traits related to storage performance

Reduced fruit flesh browning. The browning of eggplant berry flesh after cutting has a negative impact on fruit quality for both industrial transformation and fresh consumption.
( Maioli et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Instituto de Biologica Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)
Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Delayed fruit ripening.
( Santo Domingo et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG)
Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio)
Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA), Spain
Improved strawberry fruit firmness. The postharvest shelf life is highly limited by the loss of firmness, making firmness one of the most important fruit quality traits.
( López-Casado et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Universidad de Málaga
Universidad de Córdoba, Spain