Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)Feb 5, 2026

Using Gene Editing to Create Disease-Resistant Plants

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jun 27, 2026

Abstract

Essence

This chapter describes CRISPR-Cas9 strategies for engineering disease-resistant crops.

Evidence

It is a protocol chapter outlining susceptibility-gene knockout and HDR-based resistance insertion workflows, including rice-focused design, transformation, and mutation validation steps.

Caveat

The abstract presents methods rather than new field, yield, durability, or pathogen-challenge results.

Simplified

Genome editing tools, most notably the CRISPR-Cas9 system, have transformed modern crop breeding by allowing precise and efficient modification of plant genomes, particularly for enhancing resistance to disease. In this chapter, we present two major CRISPR-based approaches that have been successfully applied to develop disease-resistant crops: (1) gene knockout of host susceptibility (S) genes to block pathogen compatibility, and (2) targeted insertion of resistance alleles or synthetic genes using the homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway. Both strategies utilize the specificity and efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 to introduce defined edits in crops such as rice. This chapter outlines comprehensive step-by-step protocols covering key elements of the process, including target site selection, construction of sgRNA and Cas9 vectors, plant transformation methods, and mutation validation techniques. Together, these methods provide a powerful platform for engineering plant immune responses and offer practical tools to accelerate the breeding of disease-resistant cultivars.

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Using Gene Editing to Create Disease-Resistant Plants

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