Legumes are rich in protein and phytochemicals and have provided a healthy diet for human beings for thousands of years. In recognition of the important role they play in human nutrition and agricultural production, the researchers have made great efforts to gain new genetic traits in legumes such as yield, stress tolerance, and nutritional quality. In recent years, the significant increase in genomic resources for legume plants has prepared the groundwork for applying cutting-edge breeding technologies, such as transgenic technologies, genome editing, and genomic selection for crop improvement. In addition to the different genome editing technologies including the CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing system, this review article discusses the recent advances in plant-specific gene-editing methods, as well as problems and potential benefits associated with the improvement of legume crops with important agronomic properties. The genome editing technologies have been effectively used in different legume plants including model legumes like alfalfa and lotus, as well as crops like soybean, cowpea, and chickpea. We also discussed gene-editing methods used in legumes and the improvements of agronomic traits in model and recalcitrant legumes. Despite the immense opportunities genome editing can offer to the breeding of legumes, governmental regulatory restrictions present a major concern. In this context, the comparison of the regulatory framework of genome editing strategies in the European Union and the United States of America was also discussed. Gene-editing technologies have opened up new possibilities for the improvement of significant agronomic traits in legume breeding.

Zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVIs) are reducing agents commonly used to purify pollutants in groundwater. However, recent reports have indicated that it also promotes plant growth and development. This study therefore investigated the effects of varying concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L^-1) of nZVI on the micropropagation, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activity of cherry laurel plants in in vitro tissue culture. The removal of the testa of the seed and the half-cut of the cotyledon were essential for successful germination. Following germination, the optimum 6-benzyladenine (BA) concentration for micropropagation was determined to be 1 mg L^-1. Although the highest percentage of shoot tip proliferation (85.15%) was obtained with the inclusion of 75 mg L^-1 nZVI in the culture medium, the maximum SFC index value (1.66), together with the highest contents of phenolics and flavonoids were obtained by adding 25 mg L^-1 nZVI. This concentration also provided the best values for antioxidant activity. In addition, the maximum amount of chlorogenic acid (39.58 mg analyte g^-1 extract), the main phenolic compound in cherry laurel, was also recorded with this concentration. The results revealed that the elevation of the concentration of nZVI in the culture medium led to a reduction in the positive effects on the growth, antioxidant activity and phenolic content of the plants. The optimum nZVI concentration was therefore determined to be 25 mg L^-1. The present study has shown that nZVI has the potential to provide encouraging and alternative benefits in in vitro plant tissue culture.

Plants encounter many environmental factors such as low and high temperatures during phytoremediation processes. In this study, our aim was to produce the transgenic tobacco plants by using a newly characterized bacterial nitroreductase, Ntr, which was active at a broad range temperature in order to detoxify 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) at lower temperature. The presence of Ntr and its heterologous expression was verified in T1 transgenic plants and their growing ability were determined under toxic amount of 2,4-DNT (35 µM). Fresh weight and dry weight of transgenic plants were significantly higher than wild type (WT) under toxic 2,4-DNT at 22 °C, indicating higher growth capacity of the transgenics. Transgenic plants also showed a higher tolerance than WT when exposed to 2,4-DNT at 15 °C. Moreover, transformation rate of 2,4-DNT was gradually decreased through decreasing temperatures in WT media, however, it was increased through decreasing temperatures in transgenic plant TR3-25 media and it had the highest transformation rate (54%) of 2,4-DNT at 4 °C. Correlatively, 2,4-DNT treatment at 4 °C led to a significant decrease in H₂O₂ level in transgenic plants. Thus, transgenic plants overexpressing nitroreductase might have an important advantage for phytoremediation of toxic nitroaromatic compounds in field applications at low temperatures.