Gene Editing approved in England
Last week England’s Lords approved gene editing. This change will make it easier to conduct field trial research involving plants produced by new genetic technologies, such as gene editing. This new law marks an important step towards aligning England’s regulations with US, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan and Brazil, where simple gene edited plants are not regulated as GMOs.
Last year, the Houses of Parliament ran a consultation on the regulation of genetic technologies and received nearly 6,500 responses. All the consultation responses were considered carefully and advice was sought from independent scientific experts. The consultation concluded that gene-edited organisms do not pose any greater risk than organisms produced through traditional breeding methods.
Giving you an example. Virus yellows are a group of viruses spread by aphids affecting major crops such as sugar beet. These viruses can cause yield losses of up to 50%. They are currently controlled using a range of pesticides. Over the past four years, a study funded by UK Research and Innovation has identified several promising sources of genetic resistance against virus yellows. Using gene editing to give resistance to virus yellows would reduce the need for pesticides and help protect crops against the virus, helping to protect the environment, increase food production and reduce costs to farmers.
Gene editing provides a precise way of introducing genetic changes and improve disease resistance and agronomic traits, making crop development and breeding more efficient. Together with molecular and quantitative genetics, gene editing can help breeders adapt their new varieties to the impacts of climate change, decrease pesticide use and reduce emissions.
References:
https://www.bspb.co.uk/news/lords-approve-gene-editing/
And last but not least …
As gene editing keeps many of us awake at night, it puts some other people asleep
