The genetic engineering of plants can be performed by gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches. Recently, genome editing has emerged as the most precise genetic engineering tool that allows the creation of precise mutations in the genome without the addition of any foreign DNA, which makes the products indistinguishable from the natural mutations. Therefore, genome-editing crop products of SDN1 and SDN2 categories remain indistinguishable from a conventionally bred product and contain no foreign DNA, thus, exempted from strict GM biosafety regulations by the Government of India and strengthening the possibility of reaching the genome-edited products for commercial cultivation. In our study, we consider banana to be a lucrative target for development as a rich source of pro-vitamin A carotenoids. The application of conventional breeding for genetic improvement in banana is difficult due to the ploidy level and nature of parthenocarpic fruit development. Therefore, we used modern biotechnological applications (a) gain-of-function (over-expression) and (b) loss-of-function (CRISPR/Cas9) for pro-vitamin A (β-carotene) improvement in banana. Our study demonstrates that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing and the overexpression of selected genes can be efficiently applied for the pro-vitamin A biofortification of banana.
