Harnessing genome editing for the advancement of underutilized crops: A critical review highlighting current progress, challenges and future prospects

Underutilized cereals and legumes are the rich source of important minerals, essential amino acids, vitamins and phytochemicals. These crops possess valuable agronomic and physiological traits, including resilience to harsh climates and the ability to thrive in low-input farming systems. Such characteristics make them vital for agricultural diversification in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, and they hold significant potential for strengthening global food security and promoting sustainable agriculture. As they possess exceptional nutritional properties, there is a huge need for specific attention to these crops. However, they have been marginalized due to the dominance of high-yielding commercial varieties of major staple food crops, limited adaptability to diverse climatic conditions, insufficient investment, lack of awareness, and monoculture practices. In recent years, advancements in genomics and high throughput sequencing technologies have paved the ways for implementing cutting-edge genomics technologies, like RNA-guided nucleases and other advanced genome editing tools to improve traits such as yield and quality, stress tolerance, nutritional properties and antinutritional factors (ANFs) in these crops. This review mainly focusses on the importance of various underutilized crops, latest progress in gene-editing applications in these crops, major challenges in the implementation of this precise technology for crop improvement including regulatory restrictions and the need for tailored gene-editing approaches to unlock the full potential of these neglected crops. Additionally, it explores strategies to address technical hurdles, such as off-target effects and delivery methods, to enhance the effectiveness of these technologies in agricultural and crop improvement.