CROP BIOTECH UPDATE
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A weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
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December 3, 2025
In This Week’s Issue:
News
New Breeding Technologies
• Webinar: Advances in CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing in Plants
• CRISPR Wheat Produces Own Fertilizer
• Coalition of 26 Food and Feed Associations Urges EU's Swift Adoption of NGTs
• CRISPR Boosts Resistant Starch in Potato
• Gene Editing Improves Soybean Grain Quality for Animal Feed
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NEWS
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New Breeding Technologies
WEBINAR: ADVANCES IN CRISPR-CAS GENOME EDITING IN PLANTS
CRISPR-Cas genome editing represents a revolutionary breakthrough and has emerged as a powerful technology offering unprecedented precision and efficiency in modifying the DNA of living organisms, including plants. It has opened up vast possibilities in basic and applied research for improving agriculture, diagnostics, and healthcare.
The 2nd International Workshop-cum-Webinar on ‘Advances in CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing in Plants' scheduled on December 10-12, 2025, will provide a comprehensive exploration of this cutting-edge field. The online 3-day evening sessions will be held from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm; IST 1.00 pm to 3.30 pm CET.
The workshop will begin by reviewing the fundamental principles of CRISPR and shed light on different methods for delivering CRISPR reagents into plant cells, with a particular focus on the innovative use of virus-mediated delivery.
The participants will further learn about the exciting developments in novel tissue culture-free methods for regenerating genome-edited plants and techniques for validating and verifying the edits.
Finally, the participants will explore the transformative applications of CRISPR, showcasing its impact on enhancing agriculture, food, and nutrition, as well as its profound implications for healthcare and the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding this groundbreaking technology.
Certificates will be given to all the participants.
What you will learn
Why Attend?
For more details, visit the event website.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, successfully developed wheat plants that can produce their own fertilizer. This breakthrough, reported in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, could help reduce air and water pollution and lower farming costs.
The research team, led by Prof. Eduardo Blumwald from the Department of Plant Sciences, used the CRISPR gene editing tool to make a naturally occurring chemical. When the plant releases the excess chemical into the soil, it stimulates soil bacteria to undergo nitrogen fixation. Through this process, the nitrogen in the air is converted into a form that can be used by the plants to grow.
In 2023, farmers in the US spent about US$36 billion on fertilizers. According to Prof. Blumwald, nearly 500 million acres in the U.S. are planted with cereals. “Imagine, if you could save 10% of the amount of fertilizer being used on that land,” he pondered. “I'm calculating conservatively: That should be a savings of more than a billion dollars every year.”
The UC Davis team has filed a patent application for the technology.
Read more from UC Davis.
A coalition of 26 European food and feed associations has issued an urgent appeal to EU policymakers, calling for the swift adoption of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) and a firm rejection of unnecessary new regulatory burdens. Representing a vast segment of the plant-based agri-food chain—from suppliers and farmers to processors and food producers—the group insists that the introduction of NGTs is critical for strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the European food system in the face of mounting pressures.
The associations specifically warned that ongoing discussions in the European Parliament threaten to derail the initiative by adding complex, scientifically unwarranted restrictions. They argue that proposed measures, such as extra sustainability criteria, extensive monitoring, or new traceability and labeling obligations for NGT products equivalent to conventionally bred ones, would create massive administrative and financial burdens. The coalition stressed that the fundamental purpose of the NGT regulation is to authorize plants similar to conventional ones under simple, proportionate conditions, not to layer new costs onto operators.
With European agriculture facing significant challenges from climate change, emerging pests, and a reduction in available crop protection tools, the group highlighted the urgent need for innovation. They noted that nearly 30 countries worldwide already treat many NGTs as conventional breeding methods, leaving the EU at risk of falling further behind its global competitors. The 26 organizations urged institutions to conclude trilogue negotiations swiftly and adopt a science-based, future-oriented NGT framework that supports investment, legal certainty, and strategic autonomy for the region.
Earlier in November, Euroseeds, together with European farmers and agricooperatives group Copa and Cogeca, released a joint Letter that highlighted the importance of a science-based and innovation-friendly regulatory framework for NGT plants.
For more details, read the open letter on the Euroseeds website. The joint Letter from Euroseeds and Copa and Cogeca is available here.
Researchers from Himachal Pradesh University, ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, and ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research in India have successfully developed high-amylose potatoes using CRISPR-Cas9. The team targeted two starch-branching enzyme genes, SBE2.1 and SBE2.2, in the widely grown potato variety Kufri Chipsona-I to increase its resistant starch content.
Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, the researchers generated 50 edited potato lines, 70% of which were found positive for bar and Cas9 genes. Six mutant lines, K301, K302, K303, K304, K305, and K306, exhibited deletions and substitutions in the target exons. Among these mutant lines, K304 was the most efficiently edited, containing both insertion-deletion and substitution mutations in three out of the four selected targets across both genes.
The study showed that the harvested tubers from the SBE2.1 and SBE2.2 mutant K304 line showed the highest amylose (95.91%) and resistant starch content (8.69 g/100 g). Further analyses revealed that these mutants illustrated an altered crystallinity index and a substantial decline in branch chain elongation in amylopectin. The researchers conclude that CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of starch biosynthesis genes is an effective strategy for developing potato varieties with improved nutritional profiles and health benefits.
For more information, read the study from Frontiers in Genome Editing.
Researchers from the State University of Londrina (Universidade Estadual de Londrina) and partners in Brazil used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to inactivate the Le1 gene in soybean to improve grain digestibility for animal feed. The study sought to reduce lectin activity by targeting this gene in the soybean cultivar BRS 537 to limit nutrient absorption in monogastric animals.
The researchers used Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with two guide RNAs to generate 20 independent events with a 10% editing efficiency. Among the lines generated, the AF12-13-1 line, carrying a 4-base pair deletion in Le1, produces a truncated and unstable protein. The complementary biochemical assays confirmed the loss of lectin activity in these lines.
The study showed that the edited lines maintained key agronomic traits, showing no differences in yield or thousand-seed weight compared with the wild-type plants. The findings of the study highlight that inactivating the Le1 gene can produce soybeans with improved digestibility for monogastric animals without affecting productivity.
For more information, read the abstract from Frontiers in Plant Science.