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 39 results

Traits related to biotic stress tolerance

Fungal and bacterial resistance: Increased resistance to late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans, common scab, and the early blight pathogen Alternaria solani.
(Karlsson et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Fungal resistance: increased resistance to Phytophthora infestans, causing late blight disease, the most serious disease of potato crops worldwide. The pathogen can infect the leaves, stems and tubers of potato plants. An unprotected field can be completely destroyed in several days.
(Kieu et al., 2021)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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
Rapid detection of toxigenic Fusarium verticillioides, a phytopathogenic fungus that causes Fusarium ear and stalk rot and poses a threat to maize yields. This accurate and portable detection equipment has great potential for detection of the pathogen, even in areas lacking proper lab equipment.
( Liang et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Institute of Food Science and Technology
North Minzu University
School of Food Science and Engineering, China
Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Belgium

Traits related to abiotic stress tolerance

Increased root length, which can restore good performance under water stress.
( Gabay et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
University of Haifa, Israel
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Argentina
Fudan University
China Agricultural University, China
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Drought tolerance.
( Njuguna et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Drought and salt tolerance.
( Curtin et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Minnesota, USA
The University of Newcastle, Australia

Traits related to improved food/feed quality

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
Improved starch quality. Starch has many food and technical applications and is often modified to certain specifications.
( Andersson et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
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
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
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
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
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
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
Increased amylose content. Cereals high in amylose content (AC) and resistant starch (RS) offer potential health benefits and reduce risks of diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and certain colon and rectum cancers.
( Sun et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
University of California, USA
University of Liege, Belgium
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
Starch with an increased amylose ratio and elongated amylopectin chains. In food products, high amylose content and long amylopectin chains contribute to a low glycaemic index (GI) after intake, playing a role in health benefits.
( Zhao et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Laboratorio de Agrobiotecnología (INTA), Argentina
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

Traits related to increased plant yield and growth

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
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
Improves complex traits such as yield and drought tolerance.
( Lorenzo et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Center for Plant Systems Biology
Ghent University
Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Belgium
Production of enlarged, dome-shaped leaves. Enlarged fruits with increased pericarp thickness due to cell expansion.
( Swinnen et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
Center for Plant Systems Biology, Vives, Belgium
Université de Bordeaux, France
Reduced seed shattering. Seed shattering is one of the main constraints on grain production in African cultivated rice, which causes severe grain losses during harvest.
( Ning et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University, China
Africa Rice Center, Benin
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

Traits related to industrial utilization

35% reduction in lignin. Fourfold increase in cellulose-to-glucose conversion upon limited saccharification. Efficient saccharification is hindered by the presence of lignin in the secondary-thickened cell walls.
( de Vries et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium
Glycoproteins without plant-specific glycans. Plants or plant cells can be used to produce pharmacological glycoproteins, for example antibodies or vaccines. However these proteins carry N-glycans with plant-typical residues [β(1,2)-xylose and core α(1,3)-fucose]. This plant-specific glycans can greatly impact the immunogenicity, allergenicity, or activity of the protein.
( Mercx et al., 2017 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Université catholique de Louvain
Université de Liège, Belgium
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
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
Tailoring poplar lignin without yield penalty. Reduced recalcitrance.
( De Meester et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology
VIB Metabolomics Core, Belgium
Doubled haploids with increased leaf size. Doubled haploid technology is used to obtain homozygous lines in a single generation. This technique significantly accelerates the crop breeding trajectory.
( Impens et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology
Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Belgium
Reduced lignin content and increased sugar release upon saccharification.
( De Meester et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Ghent University
VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Belgium

Traits related to herbicide tolerance

Herbicide glyphosate tolerance.
( Arndell et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
CSIRO
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
The University of Adelaide, Australia
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
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
Glyphosate & hppd inhibitor herbicides, for example tembotrione
( D'Halluin et al., 2013 )
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
Bayer CropScience N.V, Belgium

Traits related to product color/flavour

Albinism and dwarfing.
( Naim et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
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

Traits related to storage performance

Reduced enzymatic browning. The formation of dark-colored precipitates in fruits and vegetables causes undesirable changes in organoleptic properties and the loss of nutritional quality.
( Gonzalez et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Laboratorio de Agrobiotecnología (INTA)
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden