CRISPR/Cas9 regulations in plant science

Abstract The programmable manipulation of genetic architecture in plants is dealt under genome engineering or genome editing. The conventional breeding approaches are tedious in nature and lack with the abilities to cope with the era of modern plant breeding. The utilization of reverse genetic approaches had been adopted tremendously to enhance agricultural productivity to fulfill the global challenge of food security. In modern times the most applicable genome editing based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) system has established a platform with solution of problems faced by scientists in classical approaches. The CRISPR along with its latest versions, that is, base and prime editing, had enabled highly precise genome engineering for crops vital for food security and have further revolutionized the plant breeding. The CRISPR/Cas system has demonstrated great potential for crop improvement but the regulation of genome edited are still at developmental stage. Methodological, biosafety and social concerns remains about the consumption of genome edit crop by humans and other living organism. Here, in this chapter, we will discuss and highlight the regulations adopted by different countries regarding GenEd crops. We will also highlight the measures taken by scientific community to address the various biosafety and social concerns raised by various governments across the globe.