Biotech Updates

After many years of waiting, Kenya has finally commenced commercial farming of Bt cotton heralding a new dawn for cotton farmers in the country. On Monday, the country planted its first Bt cotton seed in an open field outside confinement during a historic launch held at Alupe University, western Kenya. The country now becomes the seventh African country to commercialize the genetically modified (GM) cotton.

Biotech Crops Market to Exceed US$37.46B by 2027

The global biotech crops market was valued at US$18.15 billion in 2018, according to Coherent Market Insights in their report released in February 2020. It is projected that the biotech crops market will reach US$37.46 billion by 2027, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7 percent over the forecast period.

GM Food Label Is Unrecognized by Most Consumers in Brazil

Researchers from Brazil released the results of their study that aimed to determine how much consumers knew about genetically modified (GM) food labeling in Brazil and identify the factors that affected the consumer's willingness to buy these foods. The results showed that about three-quarters of Brazilian consumers did not recognize the symbol used for GM food labeling.

Researcher Establishes CRISPR-Cas12b System for Plant Genome Engineering

Most people who know CRISPR think of CRISPR-Cas9. However, Yiping Qi and colleagues from the University of Maryland are constantly exploring new CRISPR tools that are more effective, efficient, and sophisticated for different crop applications to help fight diseases, pests, and the effects of a changing climate. Qi and his lab have established a new CRISPR genome engineering system for plant systems for the first time: CRISPR-Cas12b, a versatile, customizable, and ultimately provides effective gene editing, activation, and repression all in one system.