64
Box 2.12 A Twenty-First-Century Regulatory System for Agriculture
For thousands of years, agriculturalist have improved the quality and performance of crops and livestock through trial and error, saving seeds from plants
or breeding animals from those that exhibited the desired traits. Today, the
tools used by agricultural breeders have evolved through science-based innovations. With an ability to understand the genetic sequence of plants and to
link a particular gene with a specific plant characteristic, breeders can quickly
and efficiently improve plants while avoiding the transfer of unwanted genes.
In the past decade, new gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas
(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, DNA sequences
that can be used to instruct genes to perform beneficial functions and more
precisely edit DNA) have become available, unlocking potential benefits for
farmers, consumers, and the environment. Breeders can now edit genes by
turning on or off various genetic functions that increase crop yields during
drought, protect the plant or crop against viruses and pests (reducing the
amount of pesticide needed), improve the nutritional quality and content of
crops, or help vegetables maintain longer shelf life. Gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas rely on natural processes that happen in the genome
but channel and target those changes more precisely.
Seed companies are exploring how this technology allows breeders to
develop better hybrids by quickly finding and leveraging the inherent diversity existing in crops. Livestock breeders are also harnessing the power of
gene-editing tools to improve the resilience, productivity, and nutritional content of animals for better meat, milk, and eggs.
To fight a devastating corn disease affecting small-scale farmers in Africa
(maize lethal necrosis), Corteva Agrisciences™ and the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have formed a public-private
research partnership to improve the resilience of maize to this devastating
disease using CRISPR-Cas technology.
(continued)
A. Steensland and M. Zeigler
Box 2.12 A Twenty-First-Century Regulatory System for Agriculture
For thousands of years, agriculturalist have improved the quality and performance of crops and livestock through trial and error, saving seeds from plants
or breeding animals from those that exhibited the desired traits. Today, the
tools used by agricultural breeders have evolved through science-based innovations. With an ability to understand the genetic sequence of plants and to
link a particular gene with a specific plant characteristic, breeders can quickly
and efficiently improve plants while avoiding the transfer of unwanted genes.
In the past decade, new gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas
(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, DNA sequences
that can be used to instruct genes to perform beneficial functions and more
precisely edit DNA) have become available, unlocking potential benefits for
farmers, consumers, and the environment. Breeders can now edit genes by
turning on or off various genetic functions that increase crop yields during
drought, protect the plant or crop against viruses and pests (reducing the
amount of pesticide needed), improve the nutritional quality and content of
crops, or help vegetables maintain longer shelf life. Gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas rely on natural processes that happen in the genome
but channel and target those changes more precisely.
Seed companies are exploring how this technology allows breeders to
develop better hybrids by quickly finding and leveraging the inherent diversity existing in crops. Livestock breeders are also harnessing the power of
gene-editing tools to improve the resilience, productivity, and nutritional content of animals for better meat, milk, and eggs.
To fight a devastating corn disease affecting small-scale farmers in Africa
(maize lethal necrosis), Corteva Agrisciences™ and the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have formed a public-private
research partnership to improve the resilience of maize to this devastating
disease using CRISPR-Cas technology.
(continued)
A. Steensland and M. Zeigler