Genome Editing for Crop Improvement and Sustainable Agriculture

World food security is increasingly threatened by the growing impacts of climate change. Traditional agricultural approaches often fall short in addressing the challenges posed by rapid climate change. Sustainable agriculture and crop improvement are critical to mitigating the effects of global warming on food production systems. Genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas9, TnpB, base editing and prime editing, hold immense promise for enhancing crop resilience and productivity. These technologies have rapidly advanced, enabling gene knockouts, targeted genetic variation, precise insertions/deletions, single-nucleotide changes and large-scale genetic alterations. This chapter reviews the remarkable progress in applying genome editing tools to crop improvement and sustainable agriculture. Additionally, it highlights potential research areas where these technologies can drive transformative advancements in modern crop breeding towards sustainability.