CRISPR-Cas applications in vegetable crop improvement: Innovations, challenges and future prospects a review

Abstract

Vegetable crops are essential components of global food security, human nutrition and agricultural economies. However, conventional breeding approaches are constrained by genetic bottlenecks, long generation cycles and the increasing pressure of biotic and abiotic stresses driven by climate change. The emergence of CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats CRISPR-associated protein) technology has catalyzed a paradigm shift in crop improvement by enabling precise, efficient and cost-effective genome editing. This review provides a comprehensive overview of CRISPR-Cas applications in vegetable crop improvement, encompassing a wide range of species including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), pepper (Capsicum annuum), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), eggplant (Solanum melongena), carrot (Daucus carota) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea). We discuss the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas systems, including Cas9, Cas12a, base editors and prime editors and their deployment in trait improvement such as disease resistance, yield enhancement, nutritional quality, shelf life and stress tolerance. Key innovations such as multiplexed editing, RNA virus-mediated delivery, ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-based transformation and in planta editing are highlighted. Regulatory landscapes across major jurisdictions, biosafety considerations, public perception challenges and ethical dimensions are critically evaluated. Finally, emerging opportunities including CRISPR-enabled smart crops, integration with artificial intelligence and the roadmap for translating laboratory discoveries into field applications are discussed. This review serves as a consolidated scientific resource for researchers, plant breeders, policymakers and biotechnology professionals working toward sustainable and resilient vegetable production systems.