Special Issue on Genome Editing for Crop Improvement

Genome editing technologies have advanced at an unprecedented pace over the past decade and hold great promise for crop improvement. The long-standing trade-offs among editing efficiency, precision, and targeting scope are now being progressively overcome through continuous endeavors in exploiting novel genome editing tools as well as optimizations of the related toolkits. Following the advancements of these technologies, genome editing is rapidly moving from proof-of-concept studies toward practical applications in crop improvement, opening new avenues for precision breeding in the context of global climate change and the growing demand for sustainable agriculture.

To facilitate the publication of the latest advancements in plant genome editing and to accelerate its innovative applications in crop breeding, we sincerely encourage submissions of Research papers, Short communications, and Review articles on topics relevant to this special issue. We truly believe that your expertise in this field and your personal involvement would greatly improve the scientific quality of the journal.

Topics covered:

1. Innovation of core genome editing components: Discovery, characterization, and engineering of the machineries for genome editing, such as novel nucleases, deaminases, recombinases, and transposases, with a focus on improving editing efficiency, specificity, targeting scope, and applicability in eukaryotic cells.
2. Development and optimization of genome editing toolkits: Development and optimization of derivative toolkits built upon genome editing platforms, including base editing, prime editing, multiplex editing, and homology-directed recombination (HDR), as well as AI-assisted and data-driven approaches that enhance their performance in crops. Besides, novel strategies that expand the scope and precision of genome editing, such as large-fragment DNA manipulation, targeted insertion and replacement, targeted expression tuning, and high-throughput or directed-evolution-based editing pipelines.
3. Novel delivery methodologies for genome editing: Development of novel delivery systems for introducing genome editing reagents into plants, including but not limited to virus-mediated delivery, cut-dip-budding delivery, nanoparticle-mediated delivery, and genotype-independent or transgene-free delivery approaches.
4. Creation of novel germplasm through genome editing in crops: Generation of novel crop germplasm with improved agronomic traits using the above tools and strategies, as well as functional characterization of important agronomic genes and the regulatory networks underlying trait improvement.
   

Important deadlines:

• Manuscript submission to be closed by 31st October, 2026
• Peer review duration from September 2026 to November 2026
• Revisions to be completed by 30 November, 2026
• Publication date: March 2027 (Volume 15, Issue 3)
• Individual papers will be published on ScienceDirect immediately following acceptance.

Guest editors:

Submission guidelines:

Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript. Submit your manuscript online at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/cj/default.aspx. During submission, please select the article type "Genome Editing for Crop Improvement" from the drop-down list. Contact The Crop Journal Editorial Office if you need any additional help:

Tel.: +86-10-8210 8603, E-mail: cropjournal@caas.cn

Journal website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-crop-journal