Molecular Plant Breeding 2025, Vol.16, No.3, 156-164 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 157 Through photosynthesis, the sugar produced by sugarcane is transformed and stored in the stems of sugarcane. The regulatory network of enzymes and transport proteins can promote the transport and storage of sucrose in plants (Oz et al., 2021; Hussin et al., 2022). These mechanisms are highly efficient and can influence the final output of sugar. A key goal of growing sugarcane is to optimize the sugar accumulation process of sugarcane and increase its yield. The CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology can precisely adjust the pathways related to sugar metabolism. By targeting genes related to sucrose production and storage, in sugarcane breeding, researchers utilized CRISPR/Cas9 to enhance the sugar accumulation efficiency in sugarcane, thereby significantly increasing the overall sugar yield and improving other metabolic functions of sugarcane. CRISPR/Cas9 is an important means for improving sugarcane varieties (Hussin et al., 2022; Krishna et al., 2023). 2.2 Major metabolic and regulatory genes Sugarcane relies on a complex genetic network to control sugar metabolism, with many metabolic and metabolic genes. Some genes produce regulatory proteins that affect the activity levels of metabolic enzymes. Other genes can directly encode metabolic enzymes and participate in the production and decomposition of sucrose. Among these enzymes, sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase and invertase are particularly important in controlling the sugar content in plants (Zafar et al., 2020; Kumar et al., 2023). By using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, researchers can edit the genes of sugarcane more accurately to increase the sugar content. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology alters the levels of regulatory genes and enzymes, making it easier for sugar in sugarcane to deposit. This gene editing method can improve sugarcane varieties and enable sugarcane to produce more sugar under different environmental conditions (Haque et al., 2018; Kumar et al., 2024). 2.3 Challenges of the polyploid genome In the genome editing of sugarcane, the polyploid characteristics of the genome are a challenge. The genome of sugarcane is composed of multiple sets of chromosomes, and genetic manipulation will be more complex. In traditional breeding and genetic engineering techniques, targeting multiple alleles simultaneously to achieve the desired traits is also a major challenge (Mohan, 2016; Oz et al., 2021). During the process of sugarcane breeding, the advancement of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has provided more opportunities for the study of sugarcane polyploid genomes. Enhancing the ability of precise gene editing of multiple alleles can improve the genetic traits of sugarcane. To stimulate the potential of genome editing in sugarcane, efficient transformation and screening technologies still need to be developed (Mohan, 2016; Tanveer et al., 2024). 3 The application of CRISPR/Cas9 in Sugarcane 3.1 Gene editing increases sugar production Researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to adjust the genes of sugarcane that produce and store sugar. Sugarcane has a tricky genome, and CRISPR/Cas9 technology can perform small and precise edits. By altering key sugar-making genes, plants can produce and retain more sugar in their stems. Some edited types of sugarcane now store additional sugar (Augustine, 2017; Hussin et al., 2022). This proves that gene editing can help farmers cultivate new varieties of sugarcane that are sweeter and stronger. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology replaces “superior” genes with “inferior” ones to optimize the sugar metabolism process in sugarcane. By using the method of “homologous directed repair (HDR)”, researchers can carry out targeted nucleotide substitution, enabling sugarcane to better utilize its own genes to produce more sugar and improve sugar production efficiency (Oz et al., 2021). Since each gene in sugarcane has many copies, precise editing is of great significance. CRISPR/Cas9 helps improve the genetic combination of sugarcane and increase its sugar yield. 3.2 Edit stress resistance genes
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