Even though plant viruses are an important part of our ecosystem, they cause enormous yield losses and are hurting crops that are essential for survival of humans and animals. With classical and new methods we are gaining improved quality in plants and are exploring mechanisms of interactions between host and virus. Development of new genome editing techniques like the CRISPR/Cas system opened new possibilities to interfere with the genome and helped us to better understand functions of certain genes and molecules. Purpose of this work is to sum up potential application of CRISPR/Cas system to gain resistance for DNA and RNA viruses in crops. Results of the studies show that this technique is precise and efficient in gaining viral immunity of crops like tomato, potato, wheat, barley, cassava, banana and beet. The analysis shows that the level of resistance is correlated with level of sgRNA molecule and Cas protein expression. Optimisation of procedures is vital for successful delivery of CRISPR/Cas system and efficiency of gained resistance. Limitations in development and commercialisation of this method are aspects of ethical matters and strict GMO regulations.
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