Bioscience Methods 2026, Vol.17, No.1, 9-22 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/bm 19 Public views matter a great deal as well. Many people are wary of GMOs, yet polls report higher support for gene-edited foods in many regions. Support rises when the change is small, close to a natural mutation, or gives clear gains, such as lowering pesticide use in many cases (Son and Lim, 2021; Ortega et al., 2022). Work across several countries finds acceptance depends on how much people know and how strongly they trust the information source in practice (Cummings and Peters, 2022). For pineapple, saying that CRISPR helps strengthen natural disease resistance could raise approval. Ethically, editing crops is less disputed than editing animals or humans, but fairness still matters. Pineapple is mainly grown in developing countries by smallholder farmers. Patents and high costs could limit access if big firms alone control the technology. On the plus side, many CRISPR tools are open source, and groups like CGIAR are working to make them available for public use. CRISPR pineapples with disease resistance could also reduce the use of chemical fungicides and bactericides, which would help the environment and human health. In short, while regulations vary, the lack of foreign DNA in many CRISPR edits gives a realistic path to approval. Clear communication and fair access could help ensure these benefits reach farmers and consumers alike. 6 Conclusion This study has described how CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing can help improve pineapple’s disease resistance. Pineapple is an important crop with high economic value, but it suffers from serious diseases. These traits make it a good target for precise breeding. The release of a high-quality pineapple genome and the discovery of key immune-related genes now allow targeted genetic improvements. Work in other crops shows that resistance can be improved by removing susceptibility genes, increasing defense gene activity, changing key regulators, or adding several resistance genes at once. CRISPR/Cas9 can do these changes much faster than traditional breeding. For pineapple, this could produce plants that resist heart rot in the field or avoid black rot after harvest. But CRISPR is only a method. Success will depend on finding the right genes to edit and improving tissue culture and regeneration steps. Future work should aim to find pineapple genes that drive resistance or susceptibility to key diseases. Researchers can do this with comparative genomics, transcriptome analyses, and functional assay tests. Wild kin may hold useful resistance genes. These genes could be introduced into commercial varieties via CRISPR allele swaps. On the technical side, work should aim to make transformation and regeneration faster and more reliable. It should also try DNA-free editing, base editing, and prime editing for precise changes. Once promising lines are made, they should be tested in multi-season field trials in areas where disease risk is high. Using several resistance genes together, or mixing plants with different resistance traits, may help keep protection strong for longer. Social and economic studies should also check how farmers and consumers feel about gene-edited pineapples. In short, CRISPR/Cas9 is a fast and accurate tool to improve pineapple disease resistance. There are still challenges, but fast progress in plant genome editing suggests these can be solved. In the coming years, the first CRISPR-edited pineapples may be tested in fields, starting a new stage in protecting the crop from disease. Acknowledgments Thanks to Dr. Luo in this project team for collecting and combing the literature during the study. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References Ahmad A., Jamil A., and Munawar N., 2023, GMOs or non-GMOs? The CRISPR conundrum, Frontiers in Plant Science, 14: 1232938. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1232938
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==