2#Plant Breeding Innovation

Plant breeders use recent advancements such as gene editing to develop improved crops that are important to the agriculture food chain and the consumer, all while using well-documented and thorough quality management processes. As much as plant breeding is a process of selecting beneficial plant characteristics, it’s also a process of eliminating undesirable characteristics. That […]

Unintended effects are, as the term suggests, effects other than those which are desired. Unintended effects can be caused by unintended mutations. In the context of traditional breeding unintended effects can result from spontaneous mutations or from classically induced mutations through irradiation/chemicals. These unintended mutations can be numerous and can occur at random locations. With

The seed sector is encouraged to provide information about breeding methods that are used for various crops to a diversity of stakeholders including regulators, the agricultural value chain and the public. Due to different expectations from value chains and consumers around the world, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to information sharing that

Seed companies are encouraged to consult with stakeholders (including regulators and the value chain) when the use of gene editing is for the development of a commercial product and not purely for research and discovery purposes.

Yes. Gene-edited products can be detected, but it is more difficult than detection of GMOs. Generally, to detect a gene-edited product, additional information about the specific change and its location in the genome is required Gene edits often can result in changes that are indistinguishable from variation that could have arisen by various means (traditional

GMO detection relies on the presence of a ‘transgene’ or ‘GM event’ in the plant. This transgene provides a unique sequence for the development of DNA-based detection methods. Gene editing may not result in a DNA sequence change that is large enough, or unique enough to develop a detection method that is reliable for regulatory

Value-added products for which there is no specific detection methods are not new, or unusual. For example, free-range eggs, shade-grown coffee, grass fed beef, and anything sold as organic all inform consumer choice without relying on detection methods. Rather, these products rely on either traceability or certification schemes through the value chain.