Food security and crop production are challenged worldwide due to overpopulation, changing environmental conditions, crop establishment failure, and various kinds of post-harvest losses. The demand for high-quality foods with improved nutritional quality is also growing day by day. Therefore, production of high-quality produce and reducing post-harvest losses of produce, particularly of perishable fruits and vegetables, are vital. For many decades, attempts have been made to improve the post-harvest quality traits of horticultural crops. Recently, modern genetic tools such as genome editing emerged as a new approach to manage and overcome post-harvest effectively and efficiently. The different genome editing tools including ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas9 system effectively introduce mutations (In Dels) in many horticultural crops to address and resolve the issues associated with post-harvest storage quality. Henceforth, we provide a broad review of genome editing applications in horticulture crops to improve post-harvest stability traits such as shelf life, texture, and resistance to pathogens without compromising nutritional value. Moreover, major roadblocks, challenges, and their possible solutions for employing genome editing tools are also discussed.

Gene therapy and genome editing technologies have advanced significantly in recent decades and have shown great potential for treating inherited and acquired diseases. CRISPR-Cas is one of several genome editing tools currently being studied and has gained widespread popularity due to its ease of use, versatility, and relatively high efficiency compared to previous methods. This chapter provides an overview of major genome editing technologies, including previously developed tools such as zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), as well as CRISPR-Cas systems such as Cas9, Cas12, and Cas13. The basic mechanisms underlying how these systems work, including target identification, DNA cutting, and cellular repair mechanisms following genome editing, are also discussed. The emphasis is also made on the newer editing techniques such as base editing, prime editing, and epigenome editing. These methods allow for more precise genome editing with minimal genome damage. In addition, since delivery remains one of the most important factors for successful genome editing, viral and non-viral delivery strategies are discussed, including the advantages and limitations of adeno-associated viruses, adenoviruses, lentiviruses, lipid nanoparticles, polymers, and physical delivery. While tremendous advancements have been made in genome editing, there are still challenges that need to be addressed. These include off-target effects, immune responses, delivery challenges, and long-term safety. This chapter further outlines recent advancements and future directions for genome editing, including increased specificity, miniaturized editing platforms, artificial intelligence, and delivery.