Genome-editing techniques are promising tools in plant breeding. To facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the use of genome editing, EU-SAGE developed an interactive, publicly accessible online database of genome-edited crop plants as described in peer-reviewed scientific publications.
The aim of the database is to inform interested stakeholder communities in a transparent manner about the latest evidence about the use of genome editing in crop plants. Different elements including the plant species, traits, techniques, and applications can be filtered in this database.
Regarding the methodology, a literature search in the bibliographic databases and web pages of governmental agencies was conducted using predefined queries in English. Identifying research articles in other languages was not possible due to language barriers. Patents were not screened.
Peer-reviewed articles were screened for relevance and were included in the database based on pre-defined criteria. The main criterium is that the research article should describe a research study of any crop plant in which a trait has been introduced that is relevant from an agricultural and/or food/feed perspective. The database does neither give information on the stage of development of the crop plant, nor on the existence of the intention to develop the described crop plants to be marketed.
This database will be regularly updated. Please contact us via the following webpage in case you would like to inform us about a new scientific study of crops developed for market-oriented agricultural production as a result of genome editing

Genome Editing Technique

Displaying 70 results

Traits related to biotic stress tolerance

Highly significant reduction in susceptibility to fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. Apple is one of the most cultivated fruit crops throughout the temperate regions of the world.
( Pompili et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Università degli Studi di Udine
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
Fungal resistance: effective reduction of susceptibility against downy mildew by increasing salicylic acid levels. The pathogen can devastate individual vineyards and in some cases also affect production from entire regions.
(Giacomelli et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research and Innovation Centre
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
Enza Zaden
Hudson River Biotechnology, The Netherlands
Fungal resistance: improved resistance to necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea.
(Jeon et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Stanford University, UK
L’Oreal, France
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
Resistance to parasitic weed: Phelipanche aegyptiaca. The obligate root parasitic plant causes great damages to important crops and represents one of the most destructive and greatest challenges for the agricultural economy.
(Bari et al., 2019)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Newe Ya’ar Research Center,
Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Israel
University of California, USA
Increased basal immunity and broad spectrum disease resistance.
( Leibman-Markus et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Volcani Institute
Tel Aviv University, Israel
Rapid and on-site detection of the mycotoxin zearalenone.
( Pei et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Shaanxi University of Science and Technology
Anhui Agricultural University
China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, China
Queen'
s University Belfast, UK
Viral resistance: reduced viral accumulation and amelioration of virus-induced symptoms by Potato Virus Y.
(Lucioli et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
ENEA
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Italy
National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Hungary
Oomycete resistance: resistance against downly mildew disease (DM). DM is caused by Peronospora belbahrii, a worldwide threat to the basil industry.
(Laura et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology
Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection
Research Centre for Olive Fruit and Citrus Crops
University of Pisa
Center for Agricultural Experimentation and Assistance
Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, Italy
Fungal resistance: resistance to Oidium neolycopersici, causing powdery mildew.
(Nekrasov et al., 2017)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany
Norwich Research Park, UK
Virus resistance: Immunity to cucumber vein yellowing virus infection (Ipomovirus) and resistance to the potyviruses Zucchini yellow mosaic virus and Papaya ring spot mosaic virus.
(Chandrasekaran et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Volcani Center, Israel
Fungal resistance: increased tolerance to Late Blight disease, which could be devastating to tomato yields.
(Maioli et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Ingeniero Fausto Elio/n, Spain
Wageningen University &
Research,
Fungal resistance: increased resistance to Erysiphe necator, causing powdery mildew in grape cultivar. The pathogen infects all green tissues and berries, leading to dramatic losses in yield and berry quality.
(Malnoy et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
ToolGen Inc.
Institute for Basic Science
Seoul National University, South Korea
Viral resistance: enhanced Potato virus Y (PVY) resistance. PVY infection can result in up to 70% yield loss globally.
(Le et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam
University of Edinburgh, UK
Resistance to parasitic weed: Phelipanche aegyptiaca. The obligate root parasitic plant causes great damages to important crops and represents one of the most destructive and greatest challenges for the agricultural economy.
(Bari et al., 2021)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Central University of Punjab, India
Newe Ya’ar Research Center
Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Israel
Bacterial resistance: Increased resistance to Erwinia amylovora, causing fire blight disease that threatens the apple and a wide range of ornamental and commercial Rosaceae host plants.
(Malnoy et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italy
ToolGen Inc.
Institute for Basic Science
Seoul National University, South Korea
Mutants were compromised in infectivity of Phytophthora palmivora, a destructive oomycete plant pathogen with a wide host range
( Pettongkhao et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Prince of Songkla University, Thailand
University of Hawaii at Manoa
East-West Center, USA
Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU), UK
Viral resistance: resistance to potyvirus potato virus Y (PVY), which causes serious yield loss.
(Kumar et al., 2022)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Viral resistance: enhanced resistance against wheat dwarf virus, which is a causal agent of wheat viral disease and can significantly impact wheat production worldwide.
(Yuan et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Northwest A&
F University, China

Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Norway
Enhanced resistance to insects, no serotonin production and higher salicylic acid levels. Rice brown planthopper (BPH; Nilaparvata lugens Stål) and striped stem borer (SSB; Chilo suppressalis) are the two most serious pests in rice production.
( Lu et al., 2018 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Zhejiang University
Jiaxing Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Wuxi Hupper Bioseed Ltd.
Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain Industry, China
Newcastle University, UK
Fungal resistance: Enhanced resistance against powdery mildew, caused by Oidium neolycopersici, which is a major concern for the productivity of tomato plants.
(Li et al., 2024)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Wageningen University &
Research, The Netherlands
Shanxi Agricultural University, China
High resistance to powdery mildew under semi-commercial growth conditions.
( Shnaider et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Center, Israel

Traits related to abiotic stress tolerance

Increased drought-avoidance strategy.
( Maioli et al., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Ingeniero Fausto Elio/n, Spain
Wageningen University &
Research, The Netherlands
Increased tolerance to cold stress.
( Teper-Bamnolker et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
The Volcani Institute
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Danziger Innovations Limited, Israel
Improved drought tolerance.
( D'Incà., 2024 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University Roma Tre
Universit `a di Trieste
IOAG-BIOTECC.R. Casaccia
Sapienza University of Rome
University of Milano
Roma Tre Section
Instituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi (INBB)
National Biodiversity Future Center, Italy
Altered cuticle properties to enhance drought tolerance.
( Negin et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Increased drought tolerance: suppresses xylem vessel proliferation, leading to lower water conductance, and reduced water-loss under water-deficit conditions.
(Illouz-Eliaz et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture
The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Increased root length, which can restore good performance under water stress.
( Gabay et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
University of Haifa, Israel
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Argentina
Fudan University
China Agricultural University, China
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Traits related to improved food/feed quality

Enhancing the accumulation of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, essential components of a healthy, balanced diet.
( Han et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Rothamsted Research, UK
Montana State University, USA
Reduced accumulation of free asparagine, the precursor for acrylamide. Acrylamide is a contaminant which forms during the baking, toasting and high-temperature processing of foods made from wheat.
( Raffan et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Rothamsted Research
University of Bristol, UK
Parthenocarpy: seedless tomato. Industrial purposes and direct eating quality.
(Klap et al., 2016)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Changing grain composition: decrease in the prolamines, an increase in the glutenins, increased starch content, amylose content, and β-glucan content. The protein matrix surrounding the starch granules was increased.
(Yang et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Sichuan Agricultural University, China
Norwich Research Park, UK
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Australia
Reduce allergen proteins. Structural and metabolic proteins, like α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors are involved in the onset of wheat allergies (bakers' asthma) and probably Non-Coeliac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS).
( Camerlengo et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Tuscia, Italy
Rothamsted Research, UK
Impasse Thérèse Bertrand-Fontaine, France
Altered starch properties. Changes in amylopectin chain-lengths, starch granule initiation and branching frequency.
( Tuncel et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
Increased grain number per spikelet.
( Zhang et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Missouri
South Dakota State University
University of California
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, USA
University of Bristol, UK
Altered gliadin levels resulting in improved end-use quality and reduced gluten epitopes associated with celiac disease. Gliadins are important for wheat end-use traits.
( Liu et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University, China
Research Centre for Cereal and Industrial Crops, Italy
Specific differences in grain morphology, composition and (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content. Barley rich in (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan, a source of fermentable dietary fibre, is useful to protect against various human health conditions. However, low grain (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content is preferred for brewing and distilling.
( Garcia-Gimenez et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
The James Hutton Institute
University of Dundee, UK
University of Adelaide
La Trobe University, Australia
Increased iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mn) content for biofortification: increasing the intrinsic nutritional value of crops.
(Connorton et al., 2017)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
John Innes Centre
University of East Anglia, UK
Mutant cell lines doubled the accumulation level of anthocyanins biosynthesized. The production of these important pigments was stabilized over time.
( D'Amelia et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Research Council of Italy
University of Naples Federico II
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy
Production of opaque seeds with depleted starch reserves. Reduced starch content and increased amylose content. Accumulation of multiple sugars, fatty acids, amino acids and phytosterols.
( Baysal et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Lleida-Agrotecnio Center
Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain
Royal Holloway University of London, UK

Traits related to increased plant yield and growth

Plant development. Phenotypes consistent with increased GA response: tall and slender with light green vegetation.
(Lor et al., 2014)
SDN1
TALENs
University of Minnesota, USA
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Regulated sepal growth
( Xing et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhejiang University, China
University of Nottingham, UK
Dwarf phenotype.
( Lawrenson et al., 2015 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
Murdoch University, USA
Root growth angle regulation, among the most important determinants of root system architecture. Root growth angle controls water uptake capacity, stress resilience, nutrient use efficiency and thus yield of crop plants.
( Kirschner et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Bonn
University of Cologne
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gatersleben
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
University of Bologna, Italy

Dwarf phenotype. Tomatoes with compact growth habits and reduced plant height can be useful in some environments.
( Tomlinson et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
University of Minnesota, USA
Early flowering phenotype with no adverse effect on yield.
( Shang et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Huazhong Agricultural University
Hubei Hongshan Laboratory
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
University of Nottingham, UK
Positive regulation for grain dormancy. Lack of grain dormancy in cereal crops causes losses in yield and quality because of preharvest sprouting.
( Lawrenson et al., 2015 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Norwich Research Park, UK
Murdoch University, Australia
Customize tomato cultivars for urban agriculture: increased compactness and decreased growth cycle of tomato plants.
(Kwon et al., 2020)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cornell University
University of Florida, USA
Wonkwang University, South Korea
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Altered spike architecture.
( de Souza Moraes et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Norwich Research Park, UK
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Germany
Improved spikelet number per panicle led to increased grain yield per plant.
( Ludwig et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines
University of Pavia, Italy
Promote growth of axillary buds. Lateral branches develop from the axillary buds. The number of side branches is very important to plant architecture, which influences the yield and quality of the plant.
( Li et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Guizhou University
Northwest A&
F University
Shandong Agricultural University
Northeast Agricultural University
Shanxi University, China
Oxford University
University of Bedfordshire, UK

Traits related to industrial utilization

Accelerated domestication of African rice landraces by improving domestication traits such as sheed shattering, lodging and seed yield. The acceleration of the development of high-yield African landrace varieties is important considering that Africa has a strong growing population and prone to food shortage.
( Lacchini et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Milan, Italy
University of Montpellier, France
Hairy root transformation. Hairy roots play a role in multiple processes, ranging from recombinant protein production and metabolic engineering to analyses of rhizosphere physiology and biochemistry.
( Ron et al., 2014 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California
Emory University, USA
University of Cambridge, UK
Conferring water logging tolerance for further expansion of the cultivation area.
( Abdullah et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Nottingham
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Removal of methyl iodide emissions. The release of methyl iodide in the athmospere causes ozone depletion and thus represents an important environmental threat.
( Carlessi et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
PlantLab
Institute of Life Sciences
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
University of Pisa
University of Milan, Italy
New red-grained and pre-harvest sprouting (PHS)-resistant wheat varieties with elite agronomic traits. PHS reduces yield and grain quality, additionally the red pigment of the grain coat contains proanthocyanidins, which have antioxidant activity and thus health-promoting properties.
( Zhu et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Henan University
Shenzhen Research Institute of Henan university
Taiyuan University of Technology
Southern University of Science and Technology, China
University of Edinburgh, UK

Traits related to herbicide tolerance

Dinitroanaline
( Liu et al., 2021 )

BE
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
China Agricultural University
Zhejiang University
Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Crop Pests in Guilin, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Norway
Bispyribac sodium
( Kuang et al., 2020 )

BE
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
China Agricultural University
Zhejiang University, China
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Norway

Traits related to product color/flavour

Improved aroma, flavour and fatty acid (FA) profiles of pea seeds.
( Bhowmik et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
National Research Council Canada (NRC)
University of Calgary
University of Saskatchewan
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
St. Boniface Hospital Research, Canada
John Innes Centre, UK
Albino phenotype.
( Wilson et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
NIAB EMR, UK
Yellow and orange fruit color.
( Dahan-Meir et al., 2018 )
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Anthocyanin-rich and pigmented sweet oranges.
( Salonia et al., 2022 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Research Centre for Olive Fruit and Citrus Crops
University of Catania
Research and Innovation Centre Trento, Italy
Albino phenotype.
( Wilson et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
NIAB EMR, UK
Albino phenotype.
( Yeap et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn. Bhd.
Sime Darby Plantation Research Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia
Fruit color: tangerine
(Ben Shlush et al., 2021)
SDN2
CRISPR/Cas
The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Traits related to storage performance

Reduced fruit flesh browning. The browning of eggplant berry flesh after cutting has a negative impact on fruit quality for both industrial transformation and fresh consumption.
( Maioli et al., 2020 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Torino, Italy
Instituto de Biologica Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP)
Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Improved shelf-life by targeting the genes modulating pectin degradation in ripening tomato.
( Wang et al., 2019 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of London
University of Leicester
University of Nottingham
University of Leeds, UK
International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia
Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
University of California, USA
Controlling the rate of fruit softening to extend shelf life.
( Uluisik et al., 2016 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of Nottingham
Royal Holloway University of London
Heygates Ltd
Syngenta Seeds
Sutton Bonington Campus, UK
Syngenta Crop Protection
University of California
Cornell University
Skidmore College, USA
Decreased postharvest water loss with a 17–30% increase in wax accumulation.
( Chen et al., 2023 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
University of Nottingham, UK
Altering tomato fruit ripening and softening, key traits for fleshy fruit. During ripening, fruit will gradually soften which is largely the result of fruit cell wall degradation. Softening may improve the edible quality of fruit but also reduces fruit resistance to pathogenic microorganisms. Fruit softening can cause mechanical damage during storage and transportation as well, which can reduce the storage and shelf life, leading to fruit loss.
( Gao et al., 2021 )
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
China Agricultural University
South China Agricultural University
Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Zhejiang University
Beijing University of Agriculture, China
University of Nottingham, UK
Improved shelf-life with improved or not affected sugar: acid ratio, aroma volatiles, and skin color.
(Ortega-Salazar et al., 2023)
SDN1
CRISPR/Cas
University of California, USA
Zhejiang Normal University, China
University of Nottingham, UK