Programming plant resilience with CRISPR/dCas9 epigenome editing: from proof of concept to crop deployment

Source 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.