CRISPR/Cas in Arabidopsis: overcoming challenges to accelerate improvements in crop photosynthetic efficiencies

The rapid and widespread adoption of CRISPR/Cas technologies has allowed genetic editing in plants to enter a revolutionary new era. In this mini-review we highlight the current CRISPR/Cas tools available in plants and the use of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model to guide future improvements in crop yields, such as enhancing photosynthetic potential. We also outline the current socio-political landscape for CRISPR/Cas research and highlight the growing need for governments to better facilitate research into plant genetic editing technologies.