Genome editing in plants

Genome editing technologies have brought dramatic changes in many fields of research, including plant sciences. Zinc finger nuclease, transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) are key players in genome editing and have been developed for targeted mutagenesis. To apply genome editing to plants, optimization and development of several technologies to overcome plant-specific hurdles has been required. In this review, we highlight recent topics in the plant genome editing field in Japan, ranging from the development of a new genome editing tool to commercial applications of genome edited plants. Such achievements contribute greatly to the development of plant genome research and its application to plant breeding.