Genome-Editing Tools for Plant-Based Improved Medicines

Medicinal plants are the richest source of secondary metabolites that are used in therapeutic, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In healthcare, various medicines like Aspirin, Quinine, Morphine, Codeine, Digoxin, Atropine, Vincristine/Vinblastine, Reserpine, Artemisinin, and Ephedrine are some of the commercially available plant-based medicines. One of the advantages of plant-based medicine is the scope for improvement using the plant cell’s own metabolic machinery. Metabolic pathway, enzymes, and associated genes for the synthesis of important metabolites in plant cells have been explored in the past three decades. A large database of genes, messenger RNAs (mRNAs), proteins, and metabolites allows researchers to manipulate the pathway to prepare new-age medicines. Production of such metabolites is achieved through cell culture techniques, hairy root culture, callus culture, and organ culture. Large-scale production is achieved using field farming; however, land scarcity in the present situation limits the goal. On the other hand, biotechnological interventions such as genetic engineering and gene editing can be effectively utilized to upscale the production at the laboratory level. The present chapter highlights the cutting-edge genome-editing tool that can be employed to generate new metabolites.