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U.S. National Academies Address PLOS One Article's Claims about the GE Crops Report |
 The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a statement regarding the PLOS One article which claimed that there were conflicts of interest among the committee members of the National Academies who authored the comprehensive report on genetically engineered crops published in 2016. According to the National Academies' statement, they implement a stringent, well-defined, and transparent conflict of interest policy. The committee reviewed around 1,000 publications, held three public meetings, and 15 webinars to seek out expert advice and information from the public about GE crops. The report underwent a rigorous, external, and anonymous peer-review process prior to final release.
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A High-Efficiency CRISPR-Cas9 System for Targeted Mutagenesis in Cotton |
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 The complex allotetraploid genome is one of the major challenges for repressing gene expression in cotton. Hence, developing a site-specific DNA mutation is a dream for cotton breeders. The CRISPR-Cas9 system is a robust technique for targeted-DNA mutation. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 system, Chao Li from East Carolina University designed two sgRNAs, GhMYB25-like-sgRNA1 and GhMYB25-like-sgRNA2, for direct Cas9-mediated allotetraploid cotton genome editing.
High proportions of CRISPR-Cas9-induced specific truncation events, either from GhMYB25-like A DNA site or from GhMYB25-like D DNA site, were detected in 50% of the examined edited cotton. Further analysis also revealed that 100% and 98.8% mutation frequency occurred on GhMYB25-like-sgRNA1 and GhMYB25-like-sgRNA2 target sites, respectively. All examined samples had no off-target-caused mutation events. These results demonstrate that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to generate DNA level mutations on allotetraploid cotton genome. For more information, read the article in Nature.
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| NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD |
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| RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS |
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| PLANT BREEDING INNOVATIONS |
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GM APPROVAL UPDATES |
- The USA approved sugarcane event CTC91087-6 for food and feed.
- The USA approved maize event DBN9858 for food and feed.
- The USA approved potato event Gen2-Z6 for food and feed.
- The USA approved cotton MON88702 for cultivation.
- The USA approved petunia event A1-DFR for cultivation.
- The USA approved maize event PY203 for cultication.
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| The Crop Biotech Update is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a non-for-profit organization. The CBU is distributed for free to over 23,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in agricultural biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10. |
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The adoption of 
Dr. Milton Stokes, Director for Global Health and Nutrition Outreach of Monsanto, said that 
