Climate change has intensified environmental stresses on plants, threatening global food security by reducing crop yields by up to 5% per decade [1]. While genetic modifications have traditionally enhanced crop resilience, they raise ethical and ecological concerns. Epigenetic priming, where plants retain “memories” of prior stress and respond more effectively to future challenges, offers a prospective, sustainable alternative. This review examines three key aspects of epigenetic priming: underlying mechanisms, the stability and reliability of transgenerational inheritance, and practical agricultural applications. Peer-reviewed studies from Biosis and CAB Abstracts databases were searched using epigenetic priming keywords, limited to those published in the past five years. The most consistent finding is that DNA methylation and histone modifications regulate plant stress responses, contributing to short-term, long-term, and potentially transgenerational memory. However, evidence on the stability of transgenerational inheritance remains mixed. Some studies support heritable epigenetic changes that enhance resilience, while others report inconsistent results across environments and genotypes. Practical applications are also emerging, including CRISPR-based tools for targeted epigenetic modifications and field studies demonstrating potential improvements in crop resilience and yields. Yet, variability in outcomes across crops stresses the need for specialized approaches. The discrepancies mentioned likely stem from methodological differences, such as stress application protocols and the resetting of epigenetic marks in germlines. Future research must refine methodologies to bridge these gaps, unlocking the potential of epigenetic priming to enhance crop resilience in a changing climate.

CRISPR-Cas9 revolutionized the field of genetic engineering but has significant drawbacks, as the double-strand breaks it induces have a relatively high rate of mutations and off-target activity. An emerging alternative is NICER, a technique utilizing an endonuclease called nickase, which has much lower levels of mutagenicity and a high level of specificity that rivals CRISPR-Cas9. This review will survey the various developments made in the nickase pipeline, specifically how they make up for CRISPR’s drawbacks, and its potential for treating genetic disorders with more accuracy and efficiency than current therapeutic tools.