Research advances in novel DNA base editors

The base editing technology is developed from the CRISPR/Cas gene editing systems, which can perform accurate base or gene editing at the DNA level. Recent years, six types of novel DNA base editors have been developed for the editing of nuclear and organellar genomes, including the cytosine base editor (CBE), the adenine base editor (ABE), the glycosylase base editor (GBE), the adenine and cytosine dual base editor (DBE), the prime editor (PE) and the mitochondrial genome editor. In this review, we summarize the principles, optimization processes and current advances of the above six DNA editors and focus on their application in crop genetic improvement. Finally, the future development of base editing technology is prospected.