CRISPR/Cas is a widely used technology that offers exciting opportunities for crop improvement.

This new open access review ‘CRISPR/Cas-based tools for the targeted control of plant viruses’ by researchers from Stellenbosch University, South Africa and Pompeu Fabra University, Spain provides an excellent overview of this fast-moving research area.

The review describes recent advances in plant-based CRISPR/Cas systems including inactivation of DNA viruses, inhibition of RNA viruses and editing of host plant factors for virus resistance. It contains details of the major applications of CRISPR/Cas technology for DNA and RNA virus resistance in plants and a summary of studies that have employed CRISPR/Cas strategies for targeting host susceptibility genes.

The review also describes the challenges and future prospects for this technology in crop development.