Programming plant resilience with CRISPR/dCas9 epigenome editing: from proof of concept to crop deployment
- 1Hopkinton High School, Hopkinton, MA, United States
Abstract
Accelerating climate change is driving unprecedented increases in the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses, threatening global food security and demanding new strategies for crop resilience. Plants have evolved a sophisticated molecular response to recurrent stress through epigenetic priming, where prior exposure induces chromatin-level alterations encoded through DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNA pathways. These imprints can persist somatically across cell divisions and, in some cases, be transmitted to subsequent generations. CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenome editing provides the means to install, modify, or erase these same marks at defined loci without altering the underlying sequence. This mini review provides an evidence-based survey of plant dCas9 epigenome editing, distinguishing what each effector class has actually been demonstrated to achieve in planta from what has been shown only in mammalian systems or remains inferred. I map the translational barriers between Arabidopsis proof-of-concept and crop deployment, survey what has been achieved in rice, maize, and tomato, organize the toolkit around the distinct memory logics (type I persistent versus type II poised) it must serve, and identify the priorities that would advance the field from demonstrated single-locus edits toward heritable, deployable modifications. By separating demonstrated capability from extrapolation, this synthesis provides a realistic basis for applying epigenome editing to sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient crop production.
Related
- CasNano: An ultracompact CRISPR-Cas12f with a GC-rich PAM for epigenome editing with therapeutic potential
- Epigenome editing in animal production: a prospective review
- Beyond DNA—CRISPR technologies for epigenome editing and transcriptional regulation in disease: A scoping review
- Neuroepigenetic programming by the maternal environment: part A—epigenome-wide DNA methylation profile in the offspring’s olfactory bulb following preconceptional weight loss in mice
- Age and early life adversity shape heterogeneity of the epigenome across tissues in macaques
BibTeX
@article{wu2026programming,
title = {{Programming plant resilience with CRISPR/dCas9 epigenome editing: from proof of concept to crop deployment}},
author = {Jacob Wu},
journal = {Frontiers in Genome Editing},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fgeed.2026.1927877},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fgeed.2026.1927877},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Programming plant resilience with CRISPR/dCas9 epigenome editing: from proof of concept to crop deployment
AU - Jacob Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Genome Editing
DO - 10.3389/fgeed.2026.1927877
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fgeed.2026.1927877
AB - Accelerating climate change is driving unprecedented increases in the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses, threatening global food security and demanding new strategies for crop resilience. Plants have evolved a sophisticated molecular response to recurrent stress through epigenetic priming, where prior exposure induces chromatin-level alterations encoded through DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNA pathways. These imprints can persist somatically across cell divisions and, in some cases, be transmitted to subsequent generations. CRISPR/dCas9-based epigenome editing provides the means to install, modify, or erase these same marks at defined loci without altering the underlying sequence. This mini review provides an evidence-based survey of plant dCas9 epigenome editing, distinguishing what each effector class has actually been demonstrated to achieve in planta from what has been shown only in mammalian systems or remains inferred. I map the translational barriers between Arabidopsis proof-of-concept and crop deployment, survey what has been achieved in rice, maize, and tomato, organize the toolkit around the distinct memory logics (type I persistent versus type II poised) it must serve, and identify the priorities that would advance the field from demonstrated single-locus edits toward heritable, deployable modifications. By separating demonstrated capability from extrapolation, this synthesis provides a realistic basis for applying epigenome editing to sustainable agriculture and climate-resilient crop production.
SN - 2673-3439
ER -