Abstract
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), as a globally important food and economic crop, is widely cultivated for its high yield, broad environmental adaptability, and rich nutritional value. In recent years, the rapid development of gene editing technologies has brought new opportunities to sweet potato breeding, particularly in improving yield, enhancing disease and stress resistance, and optimizing nutritional quality. However, the complex hexaploid genome of sweet potato presents significant challenges for the application of gene editing. Current research primarily focuses on genome sequencing, disease-resistance gene analysis, and optimizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Breakthroughs in these areas have significantly improved disease resistance, drought tolerance, and nutritional composition in sweet potatoes. Furthermore, the advancement of molecular marker-assisted selection and multi-trait breeding technologies has further promoted the practical application of gene editing in sweet potato breeding. Despite notable progress, the widespread application of sweet potato gene editing still faces challenges related to regulation, ethics, and industrialization. This review summarizes the latest research progress in sweet potato gene editing and breeding technologies, analyzes key issues, and discusses future development trends to provide scientific insights for advancing sweet potato gene editing and breeding research.
