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This article discusses the importance of cassava as a staple crop, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and the issue of cyanogenic glucosides (CGs) accumulating in cassava roots, which can be toxic to humans if not properly processed. Researchers have successfully used gene editing to reduce CG levels in cassava, but there is evidence that this may lead to increased herbivory and potentially lower yields. The article also explores the transport of CGs in cassava, suggesting that they are synthesized in the roots rather than transported from the shoot apex. The findings have implications for improving the safety of cassava and understanding the movement of CGs within the plant. [Extracted from the article]

Summary Cis‐regulatory element editing can generate quantitative trait variation that mitigates extreme phenotypes and harmful pleiotropy associated with coding sequence mutations. Here, we applied a multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 approach, informed by bioinformatic datasets, to generate genotypic variation in the promoter of OsSTOMAGEN, a positive regulator of rice stomatal density. Engineered genotypic variation corresponded to broad and continuous variation in stomatal density, ranging from 70% to 120% of wild‐type stomatal density. This panel of stomatal variants was leveraged in physiological assays to establish discrete relationships between stomatal morphological variation and stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation and intrinsic water use efficiency in steady‐state and fluctuating light conditions. Additionally, promoter alleles were subjected to vegetative drought regimes to assay the effects of the edited alleles on developmental response to drought. Notably, the capacity for drought‐responsive stomatal density reprogramming in stomagen and two cis‐regulatory edited alleles was reduced. Collectively our data demonstrate that cis‐regulatory element editing can generate near‐isogenic trait variation that can be leveraged for establishing relationships between anatomy and physiology, providing a basis for optimizing traits across diverse environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]