AFSI Newsletter - August 2021
AFSI Workshops on Gene Editing in the Context of Plant Breeding and Agricultural Biotechnology
Gene editing refers to a family of precision plant breeding techniques being used to develop plants with beneficial traits ranging from resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses to nutritional enhancement. While there is no agreed upon international definition for these techniques, gene editing typically makes use of site-directed nucleases to introduce changes at a specific site in the genome. Depending upon the process, the resulting change could range from a point mutation to small sequence changes or potentially to the incorporation of entire genes. The regulation of gene edited plants is the subject of much discussion, particularly those that result from small sequence changes that are indistinguishable from plants produced through conventional mutagenesis methods. Evidence-based food safety assessments conducted using internationally accepted best practices help reduce complexity, time, and costs for all stakeholders, and the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute is committed to providing information resources and capacity building activities for scientists and regulators, focusing particularly on the safety assessment of foods and feeds derived from genetically engineered plants.
ASEAN GMF Testing Network Gene Editing Workshop
In partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Agriculture of Thailand, AFSI hosted a by-invitation-only online workshop on July 12-14, 2021 to coincide with the ASEAN GMF Testing Network meeting. The workshop facilitated practical exercises to help participants become familiar with scoping for risk assessment in order to advance discussions related to risk assessment and regulation of gene edited plants and other organisms. The online event began with a gene editing webinar that provided informational presentations on key scientific and risk assessment topics, followed by a set of breakout group exercises and a concluding discussion on the third day.
Gene Edited Plants: Context and Communication for Plant Breeding Innovation
Continuing AFSI’s ongoing engagement with scientists in Korea around gene editing, Gene Edited Plants: Context and Communication for Plant Breeding Innovation took place on July 19-23, 2021, with plenary presentations focusing on examples of genome edited plants that have been developed around the world, as well as the approach to their regulation in different countries. Through facilitated discussions on different case studies, the event fostered open dialogue between government officials, scientists, and other stakeholders on issues related to new plant breeding technologies. The opening and closing sessions were live-translated into Korean, and the breakout sessions were facilitated by Korean-speaking moderators.
E-Learning Courses
Individuals keen to learn more about gene editing in the context of plant breeding might be interested in AFSI's e-learning course on Genetic Variability in Crops, which provides a basic review of genetics and plant breeding, an overview of modern breeding technologies, and then discusses how new plant cultivars are released. Those who would like to broaden their knowledge on scoping for risk assessment (referred to as problem formulation) may want to explore our food safety courses–Concepts in the Safety Assessment of Novel Food and Feed and Application of Problem Formulation to Food and Feed Safety Assessments.