European court suggests relaxed gene-editing rules

EU and United States diverge on gene-edited crops

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db238121 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Gene Editing ◽

Genetically Modified Organisms ◽

The United States ◽

Trade Restrictions ◽

Content Type ◽

New Crops ◽

European Court ◽

Wide Range ◽

Global Agriculture

Subject Regulation of gene-edited organisms. Significance The European Court of Justice (ECJ) last month ruled that new processes for altering the genetic structure of organisms should be subject to existing EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The move calls into question whether European researchers and businesses will be able to participate in the global race to exploit the rapidly evolving technology of gene editing. Impacts Innovation in gene editing will usher in a wide range of new crops in the United States and emerging economies over the next decade. This will further enhance the position of GM products in global agriculture (particularly for staples such as soybean, cotton and maize). The EU is unlikely to apply trade restrictions upon such products.

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CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing of myb28 impairs glucoraphanin accumulation of Brassica oleracea in the field

10.1101/2020.07.16.206813 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mikhaela Neequaye ◽

Sophia Stavnstrup ◽

Tom Lawrenson ◽

Penny Hundleby ◽

Perla Troncoso-Rey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Editing ◽

European Court Of Justice ◽

Knockout Mutant ◽

Glucosinolate Biosynthesis ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

European Court ◽

Indole Glucosinolate ◽

Cysteine Sulfoxide ◽

Aliphatic Glucosinolate

SummaryWe sought to quantify the role of MYB28 in the regulation of aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis and associated sulphur metabolism in field-grown B. oleracea with the use of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing technology. We describe the first characterised myb28 knockout mutant in B. oleracea, and the first UK field trial of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene edited plants under the European Court of Justice interpretation of the 2001/18 EU GMO directive. We report that knocking-out myb28 results in downregulation of aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis genes and reduction in accumulation of the methionine-derived glucosinolate, glucoraphanin, in leaves and florets of field-grown myb28 mutant broccoli plants. There were no significant changes to the accumulation of sulphate, S-methyl cysteine sulfoxide and indole glucosinolate in leaf and floret tissues.

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Europe’s first and last field trial of gene-edited plants?

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.42379 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jean-Denis Faure ◽

Johnathan A Napier

Keyword(s):

Field Trial ◽

Gene Editing ◽

Genetically Modified ◽

Basic Research ◽

European Court Of Justice ◽

Publicly Funded ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

European Court ◽

The Future ◽

The Uk

On 5 June this year the first field trial of a CRISPR-Cas-9 gene-edited crop began at Rothamsted Research in the UK, having been approved by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. However, in late July 2018, after the trial had started, the European Court of Justice ruled that techniques such as gene editing fall within the European Union’s 2001 GMO directive, meaning that our gene-edited Camelina plants should be considered as genetically modified (GM). Here we describe our experience of running this trial and the legal transformation of our plants. We also consider the future of European plant research using gene-editing techniques, which now fall under the burden of GM regulation, and how this will likely impede translation of publicly funded basic research.

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