Genome Editing and Its Application for Genetic Improvements of Plants

Technology of precise genome editing based on the transcription activator-like effector nucleases(TALENs)and the type II clustered regularly interpaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR/Cas9)has been a powerful auxiliary tool for research on genetic functions and improvements of plants.TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 can induce a double strand break(DSB)between the bound sequence resulting in cellular repairs on DSB through either the homologous recombination(HR)or non-homologous end joining(NHEJ)pathway prior to making modifications on the target genome.This article reviews the information relevant to TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 based on the structure characteristics,action principle and applications of target modification on plants.Potential applications of the advanced technology were also discussed.