**9. Conclusions and future perspectives**

Premium quality rice grain is the demand of a growing population with better living standards. Presently, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has all genome editing capabilities, e.g., knock-in, knockout, knockdown, and expression activation. This system has tremendous untapped potential, has formed an ever-expanding genetic toolbox for plant biologists to investigate functional genomics, and is a helping hand for breeders to integrate important genes into the genomes of important crops. The successful application of CRISPR/Cas9 for tissue engineering and human stem cell modification has led to further developments in the field of precise genome editing. The ability to target multiple genes via multiplexed genome editing strategies can facilitate pathway-level research to engineer complex multigenic rice grain quality attributes. Previously, few studies have been conducted that are related to targeted mutagenesis for rice grain quality improvement. The pathways of rice grain quality are not well understood, and they can be investigated for the genetic mechanisms controlling quality attributes. The development of novel regulatory components from naturally existing peripherals (genes, promoters, cis-regulatory elements, small RNAs, and epigenetic modifications) can facilitate the engineering of regulatory pathways for different elements of rice grain quality. The rapid shift of research toward the utilization of CRISPR/Cas9 systems for targeted mutagenesis could be a promising approach for overcome barriers to breeding improved quality rice.

*Plant Breeding - Current and Future Views*
