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

Genome Editing Technique

Displaying 61 results

Traits related to biotic stress tolerance

Highly significant reduction in susceptibility to fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. Apple is one of the most cultivated fruit crops throughout the temperate regions of the world.
( Pompili et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Università degli Studi di Udine
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
Bacterial resistance: bacterial leaf-blight resistance, which is a destructive disease caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. and threatens rice production in tropical and temperate regions.
(Kim et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chungbuk National University
Hankyong National University, Korea
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: effective reduction of susceptibility against downy mildew by increasing salicylic acid levels. The pathogen can devastate individual vineyards and in some cases also affect production from entire regions.
(Giacomelli et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research and Innovation Centre
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
Enza Zaden
Hudson River Biotechnology, The Netherlands
Viral resistance: improved resistance to yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV).
(Tashkandi et al., 2018)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University
4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
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

Detection method for the geminiviruses, tomato yellow leaf curl virus and tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus, which can cause huge economic losses and pose a threat to sustainable agriculture.
( Mahas et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Viral resistance: partial resistance to Pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV) isolate IC, with plants harboring weak symptoms and low virus loads at the systemic level.
(Moury et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
INRA, France
Université de Tunis El-Manar
Université de Carthage, Tunisia
Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire
Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Burkina Faso
Viral resistance: reduced viral accumulation and amelioration of virus-induced symptoms by Potato Virus Y.
(Lucioli et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
ENEA
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Italy
National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Hungary
Oomycete resistance: resistance against downly mildew disease (DM). DM is caused by Peronospora belbahrii, a worldwide threat to the basil industry.
(Laura et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology
Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection
Research Centre for Olive Fruit and Citrus Crops
University of Pisa
Center for Agricultural Experimentation and Assistance
Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, Italy
Viral resistance: resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). Delayed or reduced accumulation of viral DNA and abolished or attenuated symptoms of infection.
(Ali et al., 2015)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
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,
Fungal resistance: Enhanced resistance against powdery mildew, caused by Oidium neolycopersici, which is a major concern for the productivity of tomato plants.
(Li et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Wageningen University &
Research, The Netherlands
Shanxi Agricultural University, China
Fungal resistance: increased resistance to Erysiphe necator, causing powdery mildew in grape cultivar. The pathogen infects all green tissues and berries, leading to dramatic losses in yield and berry quality.
(Malnoy et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
ToolGen Inc.
Institute for Basic Science
Seoul National University, South Korea
Bacterial resistance: Increased resistance to Erwinia amylovora, causing fire blight disease that threatens the apple and a wide range of ornamental and commercial Rosaceae host plants.
(Malnoy et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
ToolGen Inc.
Institute for Basic Science
Seoul National University, South Korea
Broad-spectrum disease resistance without yield loss.
( Sha et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Huazhong Agricultural University
Chengdu Normal University
Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Anhui Agricultural University
BGI-Shenzhen
Northwest A&
F University
Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Université de Bordeaux, France
University of California
The Joint BioEnergy Institute, USA
University of Adelaide, Australia

Traits related to abiotic stress tolerance

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
Drought and salt tolerance.
( Curtin et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Minnesota, USA
The University of Newcastle, Australia
Improved drought tolerance.
( D'Incà., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University Roma Tre
Universit `a di Trieste
IOAG-BIOTECC.R. Casaccia
Sapienza University of Rome
University of Milano
Roma Tre Section
Instituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi (INBB)
National Biodiversity Future Center, Italy
Improved cold tolerance.
( Park et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Rural Development Administration
Kyungpook National University
National Institute of Agricultural Sciences
Kyungpook National University
Jeonbuk National University, Korea
College of Marine and Bioengineering, China
Improved salt stress resistance. Significant increase in the shoot weight, the total chlorophyll content, and the chlorophyll fluorescence under salt stress. Also high antioxidant activities coincided with less reactive oxygen species (ROS).
( Shah Alam et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Zhejiang University, China
Taif University, Saudi Arabia
Alexandria University, Egypt
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

Reduced amount of saturated fatty acids (FA) in soybean seeds for nutrititional improvement. FA are linked to cardiovascular diseases.
( Ma et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Zhejiang University, China
La Trobe University, Australia
Reduced browning and acrylamide. Acrylamide is a contaminant which forms during the baking, toasting and high-temperature processing of foods and is regarded as a potential carcinogen and neurotoxin.
( Nguyen Phuoc Ly et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Murdoch University, Australia
Reduced flavonoids and improved fatty acid composition with higher linoleic acid and linolenic acid, valuable for rapeseed germplasm and breeding. The genetic improvement has great significance in the economic value of rapeseeds.
( Xie et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Yangzhou University
The Ministry of Education of China, China
University of Western Australia, Australia
Reduced levels of very long chain saturated fatty acids in kernels, which are associated with revalance of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
( Huai et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Oil Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
International Crops Research Institute of the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India
Murdoch University, Australia
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
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 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
Highly specific detection of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in cereal samples. OTA is classified as a Class 2B carcinogens. The method can be flexibly customized to detect a wide range of small molecular targets and holds great promise as a versatile sensing kit with applications in various fields requiring sensitive and specific detection of diverse analytes.
( Chen et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ningbo University
Hainan University
Ningbo Clinical Pathology Diagnosis Center, China
University of New South Wales, Australia
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
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 amylose content in the seeds, thus a lower Glycemic Index (GI) value. Low GI rice is preferred to avoid a sudden rise in glucose in the bloodstream. Starch with a high GI threatens healthy individuals to get diabetes type II and proves extremely harmful for existing diabetes type II patients.
( Jameel et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Jamia Millia Islamia
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, India
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
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
Fine-tuning the amylose content, one of the major contributors to the eating and cooking quality.
( Xu et al., 2021 )

BE
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Nanjing Branch of Chinese National Center for Rice Improvement
Yangzhou University
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
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
Low glutelin content in the rice germplasm: patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and phenylketonuria (PKU) need to eat rice with low glutelin content.
(Chen et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Nanjing Branch of Chinese National Center for Rice Improvement
Yangzhou University
Henan Agricultural University
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia

Traits related to increased plant yield and growth

Semi-dwarf phenotype to improve lodging resistance and increased seed dormancy. Increased seed dormancy can be beneficial for use in the malting industry.
( Cheng et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Tasmania
Murdoch University
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Australia
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
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

Increase in plant height, tiller number, grain protein content and yield. 1.5- to 2.8-fold increase in total chlorophyll content in the flag leaf at the grain filling stage. Delayed senescence by 10–14 days. High nitrogen content in shoots under low nitrogen conditions.
( Karunarathne et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Murdoch University
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Australia
Increased grain yield and quality.
( Luo et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Guizhou University, China
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Plant architecture: high tillering and reduced height.
(Butt et al., 2018)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Delayed flowering.
( Kim et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Myongji University, Korea
Positive regulation for grain dormancy. Lack of grain dormancy in cereal crops causes losses in yield and quality because of preharvest sprouting.
( Lawrenson et al., 2015 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
Murdoch University, Australia
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
Improved spikelet number per panicle led to increased grain yield per plant.
( Ludwig et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines
University of Pavia, Italy

Traits related to industrial utilization

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
Parthenocarpy: seedless tomatoes
(Nieves-Cordones et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura-CSIC, Spain
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
Generation of male-sterile hexaploid wheat lines for use in hybrid seed production. The development and adoption of hybrid seed technology have led to dramatic increases in agricultural productivity.
( Okada et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
The University of Adelaide, Australia
Huaiyin Normal University, China

Traits related to herbicide tolerance

Imazethapyr, imazapic
( Wang et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Nanjing Branch of Chinese National Center for Rice Improvement
Yangzhou University
Jiangsu University, China
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
Bispyribac sodium
( Butt et al., 2017 )
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Agricultural Research Center, Egypt
Rice University, USA
Herbicide tolerance (ALS-targeting)
( Wang et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Nanjing Branch of Chinese National Center for Rice Improvement
Yangzhou University
Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Jiangsu University, China
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
Bispyribac sodium
( Butt et al., 2020 )

PE
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Herbicide glyphosate tolerance.
( Arndell et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
CSIRO
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
The University of Adelaide, Australia
Herboxidiene
( Butt et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Universite Paris-Saclay, France

Traits related to product color/flavour

Anthocyanin-rich and pigmented sweet oranges.
( Salonia et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research Centre for Olive Fruit and Citrus Crops
University of Catania
Research and Innovation Centre Trento, Italy
Albinism and dwarfing.
( Naim et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

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