Enhancing Plant Stress Tolerance through CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Gene Editing in Arabidopsis thaliana

The increasing prevalence of environmental stresses such as drought and salinity necessitates the development of crops with enhanced stress tolerance. This study aims to investigate the role of specific genes in stress tolerance by utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We targeted the DREB1A and SOS1 genes, which are known to play crucial roles in abiotic stress responses. Our methodology involved the creation of gene knockout lines followed by phenotypic assessments under controlled stress conditions. The edited lines exhibited a significant increase in tolerance to both drought and salinity, with survival rates improving by 35% and 42%, respectively, compared to wild-type controls. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed an upregulation of stress-responsive pathways, indicating an enhanced adaptive response. These findings suggest that targeted genetic modifications can effectively improve stress resilience in plants, providing a promising strategy for developing stress-tolerant crops. Future research will focus on translating these findings to economically important crop species.