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Open Access CC BY V4.0
Journal article
Engineering next-generation crops through CRISPR-mediated horizontal gene transfer
New Phytologist, Vol.249(6), pp.2683-2689
2026
Abstract
Crops increasingly face overlapping stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, and pathogens that conventional breeding or genome editing rarely overcome in combination. To address this, we propose CRISPR-enabled horizontal gene transfer (CRISPR-HGT) as a programmable framework that recreates the evolutionary process by which plants historically acquired adaptive microbial genes. Microbial genes, refined under extreme environments, provide a naturally preadapted resource for multi-trait resilience. By integrating tools such as Cas12a, CasΦ, RNA-targeting, and dCas-based epigenome editors with AI-guided microbial gene discovery, CRISPR-HGT enables modular and inducible stress regulation. This approach shifts genome editing from allelic modification to evolution-guided design. We outline a conceptual pipeline spanning microbial gene mining to adaptive field deployment, highlighting the ecological, biosafety, and regulatory dimensions, from the European Union's cautious oversight to the UK's product-based framework. CRISPR-HGT thus introduces an evolution-informed paradigm for engineering crops that anticipate stress and sustain yield under climate uncertainty.
Details
- Title
- Engineering next-generation crops through CRISPR-mediated horizontal gene transfer
- Authors/Creators
- Madhab Kumar Sen - Czech University of Life Sciences PragueAmit Roy - Czech University of Life Sciences PragueRajeev K Varshney FRS - Murdoch University, Food Futures InstituteAmrita Chakraborty
- Publication Details
- New Phytologist, Vol.249(6), pp.2683-2689
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc
- Number of pages
- 7
- Identifiers
- 991005861090907891
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Crop and Food Innovation; State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre; Food Futures Institute
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 1 Clinical & Life Sciences
- 1.54 Molecular & Cell Biology - Genetics
- 1.54.1401 Genome Editing
- Web Of Science research areas
- Plant Sciences
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science